Kayak Wiki: Tees

Places : England : North East England : River Tees

Various sections, starting with the grade V-VI Cauldron Snout where the water released from Cow Green Reservoir falls over the Whin Sill, down through some classic hard to intermediate trips until the coastal plain is reached with some touring paddling through urban areas

There are a few more photos, but I fear they would stretch loading time for this page too much. Andy Waddington

Guage

The easiest place to judge the river level for the main paddling sections is at Abbey Bridge downstream from Barnard Castle. There is a page with photos of various levels, relating these visuals to conditions on the rest of the river:

http://pennine.demon.co.uk/photos/whitewater/abbeycam/abbeypix.htm

Cauldron Snout

has been paddled at least once, by local guidebook author Nick Doll in a very short plastic boat. He did part backwards and rumour has it that he lived to tell the tale, but with broken ankles. This is essentially a broken waterfall of 30m or so with no pools to speak of, including no real plunge pool at the bottom. Anyone daft enough to paddle this will have done enough research not to need telling where to put in or take out.

Cauldron Snout to High Force

This rarely paddled section has a very compulsory get-out before High Force, as this 30m fall is quite unrunnable. There is no guidebook description, but the river is mostly grade 2 to 3, and needs either a lot of rain to bring Maize Beck up, or a large release from the dam. This stretch of river lies between the Strathmore and Raby estates and may be included in the same access arangement (ie. a £3 fee per paddler, any time of year). But the access is fairly difficult and levels not consistent (and requires unpleasant weather), so the section is very rarely paddled.

Directions

Put-in
- At the foot of Cauldron Snout, approached by Cow Green reservoir public access road from Langdon Beck, then on foot for a mile or so along the track to the dam. Follow a steep and slippery path river left beside Cauldron Snout, and put in immediately, or a little way downstream, opposite Maize Beck
Mid point access
- A major tributary enters from the left just before a bridge. At the bridge, river left, a public footpath leads up to Forest in Teesdale.
Take-out
- It is well worth reccying the take out, as failure to get out before High Force will be fatal. A public footpath follows the river fairly near the right bank from the mid-point access all the way to High Force. Get out onto this and carry for half a mile or so down to a bridge well below High Force (no access back to the river before this bridge owing to cliffs). Either put back on for the next section, or cross the bridge for a path back to the main road near the High Force Hotel

High Force to Wynch Bridge

3.5 km, mostly grade II-III, but with falls at grade IV which can be portaged

Permits :

Requirements : Always Required
Availability : Available On-site, from car park at High Force Hotel (for which there is also a fee)
Price : £3 per person last time I went
Issuer : Raby Estate

Seasons :

Opening Date : In fact access by permit is allowed at any time of year, but

summer levels are rarely high enough to warrant paddling

Type of water and weather to expect: needs rain, snowmelt is often the most reliable. Water can be cold, setting is exposed and often windy. Extremely scenic if you can catch the right combination of high, peaty water and low winter sunshine.

Difficulty :

Most Difficult Rapid : Salmon Leap (Dog Leg) and Low Force are both IV
Average Difficulty : mainly III

Rapids:

Salmon Leap Falls aka The Dog Leg

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Tight IV at low levels, full-on IV at high levels
land left to inspect, and possible portage. Right bank is also possible, though then portage is a little harder. Right bank provides best photo opportunities (this rapid features in every guidebook that covers the river, including the cover photo of "English White Water")
The most usual route is a rocky channel starting river left, with a series of small drops and stoppers leading back right to a plunge pool. At this point in low flow is a very tight 90° turn, a definite portage at the lowest flows (It has been run in low flows but with short boats, look for yourself). In higher flows this pool fills and there is much more room to manoeuvre into the next section, which is a straight run with a large boulder right in the middle, best taken right.
More alternative routes will become apparent on inspection in higher water levels, when the dog leg becomes quite exciting and a more straightforward lead-in to the plunge pool is direct over a 2m drop
There is a comparatively calm stretch of water below this to collect bodies and belongings. This is sufficiently safe that Salmon Leap is a favoured location for running white water safety and rescue courses.

Low Force

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Grade IV, the main drop requires more bottle than technique, but the smaller upper drop has an obstructed approach which makes it difficult to get clear of the stopper on landing, and this is not an especially good place to swim, as a line left over the second drop tends to result in broken ankles for swimmers
land river right to inspect, and easy portage of first drop, main drop or both on the Pennine Way footpath. Best photo opportunities also from right bank.
The first drop is usually taken as far right as possible, avoiding a rock on the run in. This makes it hard to get any speed on, and the stopper wants to back-loop low-volume boats and those with flat aft decks, so a strong tilt can be helpful. It has been known to hold kit and occasionally swimmers so have safety. There is then a brief calm pool before the main (4m) drop, again taken on the right. it is a boily landing, and having the paddle knocked out of your hand by the rocks can be distressing.
In very high water, a line opens up on the left, but a slight miscalculation can result in an untoward rocky landing, so inspect and run with care !
Safety cover. The top drop is easy to cover with a throw line from river right. Be prompt - you don't want swimmers to go over the bigger drop. The bigger drop is harder to cover as the plunge pool is at the foot of a slippery polished 4m cliff. A climb down (on belay) gives access to an insecure-feeling ledge from where a throwline can be deployed. Swing your victim in to the right bank and pay out line until he reaches somewhere he can climb out. Low force has a tendency to push right into the cliff on landing (the cause of many swims). It is also worth walking down to look at the smaller Wynch Bridge Fall below (just before the bridge) as in low water this can be tricky to see from above).

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Wynch bridge fall
- grade III
- A short way downstream is a short fall that can be taken near centre. An ideal line misses a large flat rock that is concealed in the foam, but most people bounce off it in plastic boats. This drops you into a short gorge between sheer walls, passing under the Victorian suspension bridge.

Directions:

Put-in
- There really is nowhere to park except at the High Force Hotel, so do your shuttle from the bottom and take the minimum number of cars to the top. If you're prepared to pay to use the tourist path (or if its midweek in winter and there's no-one to take money) then follow this right down to the plunge pool below High Force - a spectacular place to put in. Most of us go down the road a little, and use a small gate to access a public footpath which leads to the river in a shorter walk, missing very little of any paddling merit.
Take-out
- a couple of hundred metres below Wynch bridge, after a few more gentle drops, one final diagonal ledge marks the end of the section. Get out river right, and walk back up the public footpath to the Wynch Bridge. Cross this and follow the path to the road at Newbiggin, where there is limited parking along the road, or a picnic site and large car parking area not far away. Its also possible to take out a little lower, and from river left, reach Newbiggin Village Hall where there is parking for several cars - as long as no-one is using the hall at the time !

Wynch Bridge to Middleton-in-Teesdale

6.5 km of pleasant touring water, at most grade II

Permits :

Requirements : I think this is still on Raby Estate, so permits required as for the section above. However, it is unpaddleable in low levels, so summer is

not really an option. Very high levels are required to make it other than quite hard work.

Weather:

Perhaps a little more sheltered than the section above, and will typically be warmer to paddle as it takes more effort !

Difficulty:

No rapids of note. Mostly shallow, with shingle bars from time to time and maybe the odd very small weir. Grade II max.

Directions:

Put-in
- Put in above or below the Wynch Bridge gorge, from right bank. Approach by footpath from Newbiggin (signposted).
Take-out
- At Middleton-in-Teesdale road bridge. Easiest access river right below bridge, then carry up to stile onto road. Parking is usually easiest on the downstream, river-left side of the road outside the Co. Durham LEA Field Centre (ie. over the bridge, same side of road).

Middleton to Cotherstone

7.5 km of easy touring water to Egglestone Bridge, then 4 km of much more exciting water down to Cotherstone. Many people choose to do just the "Racing Section" (used for wild water races) from Egglestone Bridge down, but access at this bridge is frowned upon. Egress from the upper river is definitely difficult, and a put-on at this point needs to be accomplished very quickly to avoid friction if the owner of the house on the south side of the bridge is about. Access at this point is accepted on the days that the river is open for training for whitewater events (a couple of days per year, very crowded).

Permits

Not required - no formal aggreement, but informal access is not generally

frowned upon. A rapid put-on is needed if using Eggleston, but otherwise paddling the river does not cause any grief. Anglers we have met have been friendly and courteous - please reciprocate to maintain good relations.

Seasons

Generally winter. Closed season for Salmon and migratory trout starts

October 1st, so paddling before this is a bad idea. Closed season for non-migratory trout starts Novemerb 1st, so the least friction will be caused by paddling after this date. Avoid again after March 31st

Weather

The flat stretch needs a lot of water to be other than a flat exercise paddle and is open to some cold winds blowing over the fields. Ice can be a problem in the coldest weather - there is barely enough flow to keep this stretch open in a hard frost. The "Racing section" has a much more lively flow, and is in a deep, mostly wooded valley. The winter sun does penetrate down here, but the shelter ensures that this section is rarely too cold.

Difficulty

Barely grade II for the first 7.5 km, then a fairly sustained grade III

Rapids

One km of fast grade II water reaches the outlet for water from Kielder reservoir (a huge reservoir many miles to the north built to supply the water needs of industry on Teesside - the tunnel carries water south to the Tees whence it flows to Middlesborough and Stockton. However, industrial decline means that this water is rarely if ever required, and I have yet to see any water emerging here). The river narrows and there follow a number of short drops with standing waves below, often with a turbulent stopper river right at the end of the section.
Slack water precedes two small sloping steps in the bedrock, which normally pass almost unnoticed. However, in high stage, river-wide holding stoppers form, which tend to take one unawares and can back-loop boats in epic levels.
A left hand bend leads to a 0.75m sloping drop, easily taken left. This is followed by a stretch of slower water which is the lead in to Woden Croft, a 75m long rapid on a bend with a tendency to sweep the less alert into branches and rocks on the right (outside) of the bend. This is grade III, since it requires a definite effort to be made to keep to a line. In low water, one must start on the right and descend the steep shingle, both avoiding large rocks, and progressing more to the left to hit a narrow slot where most of the water flows, avoiding some very large rocks on the right. As water levels rise, it gets easier, though things happen faster, and in high levels, you can start further left, and don't need to finish so far left, so it is all relatively untechnical, but bouncy.
Another 100m leads to a final drop of 1m sloping, easiest on left. Shingle banks then lead to the footbridge. Keep right under this, crossing a small tributary river on the right, to reach the take-out on river right. Alternatively, keep left, breaking in below the island formed below the tributary, and paddle back up the slack water which may have more useful depth to reach the take-out in low water. Please don't use this alternative if there is anyone fishing from the island !

Directions

Put-in
- Middleton-in-Teesdale bridge, park on the village side, cross the bridge and put in downstream of the bridge. In a decent level, you can paddle back upstream under the bridge to explore some minor play waves just upstream.
Mid-point
- Eggleston bridge. Very iffy as a take-out, but OK as a put-in if you're quick. Park on the grassy triangle 100m from the bridge on the Romaldkirk side, out of sight from the house by the bridge. Be ready to put on quickly, then nip down the road to the bridge, go through the gate on the left, nad get onto the cobble bank river left above the bridge. Put on quickly. Most times no-one will see you. Occasionally there will be anglers - none of these has ever complained at us, but if they are fishing this stretch it is politic not to use the play wave just under the bridge. If no-one is fishing, this can be a good wave at moderate water levels, and if no-one has seen you put-on, you can play on it happily. The house owner never seems to complain at paddlers who have paddled down from Middleton.
Take-out
- Cotherstone. The river is not obvious from the main road. References to a prominent monkey puzzle tree as landmark are out of date, as this has been felled. The tiny access road between two stone-built houses is almost opposite the pub, and is easily missed at the upstream end of the villagae. Once entered, there is a prominent sign "to the river", and down the hill lies a small metalled parking area. If this is full, please park on the grass at the same side. Don't park on the football pitch, nor drive down to the river. The river is 100m down the track.

Cotherstone to Barnard Castle

A pleasant stretch of 7 km of mostly grade II water leads to a weir, dangerous in high water, then around 1 km of grade II to the usual take-out below the town. Getting out in good time for the weir is easy, even in very high water, and this is an excellent trip for introducing novices to white water.

Permits:

No formal agreement, but informal access is unrestricted outside the fishing season (October to March seems acceptable). A short section between the County Bridge and the footbridge in Barnard Castle is used for training throughout the summer, accessed from the road river right below the County Bridge.

Difficulty

grade II, perhaps up to III in very high water although this tends to create big standing waves rather than any great need to pick a line. High water can make it difficult to get a swamped boat to a bank, so novices should have plenty of buoyancy packed both fore and aft.

Rapids:

A series of shingle rapids with a few big rocks start just below the put-in. These become quite continuous with bouncy waves in higher water. The rapids get smaller and less continuous over the first 4 km.
4½ km below Cotherstone is a 0.75m drop, best shot right. This has some rotor with water coming in from the left which can take beginners by surprise. Be ready with a support stroke on the left !
a rather flat section follows until after 2km, the remains of a dismantled railway viaduct (once rather impressive) are passed, and a footbridge hoves into view at the end of a long straight reach. This is a warning that Wren's Dam follows shortly. In high water take out river left above the bridge, and portage across the bridge and down the road river right past a row of houses, until a green on the left gives access back to the river just below the weir.
In lower water, the weir can be taken via the fish ladder on the left - land left and inspect. A fence above the fish ladder, and a steep overhung bank below it makes bank support a little difficult. If in doubt, portage. In very low water, the weir can be taken direct. Indeed, in the lowest water, it may be a simple slide down green algae on the concrete face with no water at all. Whatever the level, there is a chute in the middle hemmed in by concrete walls which must be avoided - it has a horrendous unescapable stopper and has seen many drownings (mostly suicides, I believe, and not canoeists).

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pleasant grade II follows, under the County bridge, access river right in the summer for local canoeists practicing. Ahead is a wide footbridge, and below it a wide weir which provides a pleasant play wave in low to medium water, but washes out completely in higher levels. The take out is river left to the big green area.

Directions

Put-in
- Cotherstone. See take out for previous section. Rather than carry down the track to the Tees, in high water it is possible to put on to the river Balder behind the parking spot, and paddle down to the confluence. Watch out for overhanging trees, and possibly for trees fallen in the river.
Mid-point
- Upstream Barney footbridge. You can take out above Wren's Dam, either river left above the bridge, or river right just below it. In both cases, carry to the road, river right. There is very limited parking here, please be considerate.
- The green below Wren's Dam. There is off-road parking here, but if you have paddled the weir, you might as well carry on to the Desmesnes. This might be a useful put-on to make the next section (Abbey Rapids) a wee bit longer.
- River right 100m below the County Bridge. Used by the local canoe club in the summer for park-and-play. Limited parking, but perhaps not as awkward for trailers as the other access points.
Take-out
- River left, 100m below the long footbridge. At the bottom of The Bank (the road downhill from the Market Cross in Barnard Castle) take the dead end road leading towards the river on the outside of the bend in the main road. Immediately turn left between buildings, a short road leads out to a large grassed area, the Desmesnes. Turn right for best parking, and the river lies just below. There has been a building development going on here for a while, and it will soon be a lived in residential block, so parking may get more difficult.

It is sometimes possible to park on the grass, but there is a height restriction which may prevent cars with boats on the roof getting through.

Barnard Castle to Whorlton

A classic short (3 km) stretch of grade III for the boutique paddler if you take out just below Abbey Bridge, or a somewhat longer trip (8 km) if you go all the way to Whorlton - most of the rest of the way at grade II.

Permits:

This section is covered by a negotiated access agreement (in return for BCU promising to keep paddlers off the River Greta, apparently). This covers November 1st to March 31st, and no permit is required, but specified access points are supposed to be used. One of these was the Lido at Whorlton, but this has recently changed owner - being purchased specifically to reduce the nuisance caused by its being open to the public. Before this change there was a charge of £2 per person to take out, if the Lido warden was there. It has not yet become clear whether access will continue at this point, or if there will be a fee to pay. It is unlikely that anyone will be on-site to collect money as has been the case in the past.

Difficulty:

grade III for much of the first 3 km, some authorities give Abbey Rapids grade IV in high water - it certainly gets turbulent, but no technical moves are needed to make the line. After that the river flattens and widens and is grade I-II until the final drop at Whorlton, grade III.

Rapids:

In high levels, the water is fast-moving from the start. 200m below the Desmesnes put-in is a natural bed-rock weir, with a drop of a metre in low water. Shoot this right in a slot, turning sharp right to avoid a big rock immediately below the chute (hitting this in cold conditions can split an old plastic boat - mine !). In very high water this drop almost disappears, although the water below it is then very turbulent and bouncy. The waves calm down over the next 50m or so
Relatively flat water follows, with shingle rapids that can be a bit of a scrape in low levels. The bed steepens a bit past the sewage works on the left. Avoid swimming in the couple of hundred metres below the outfall at the end of this.
1½ km below the first drop, a minor road joins the right bank, a packhorse bridge carries this over the small Thorsgill Beck, and the ruins of Egglestone Abbey appear on the right skyline. The river flattens and a dull roar can be heard from somewhere ahead. Keep right at the start of Abbey Rapids, and watch for barely submerged rocks if the level is low - they lurk to trip you up whilst your mind is dwelling on the narrowing gorge ahead. The gradient steepens and the river narrows past the Mill, into a rocky gorge with a series of bedrock steps. The cautious approach is to eddy hop, alternating sides, with the last break-out on the left, just above the two main drops. In most levels, follow the main flow, with some speed to break through the haystacks. There is a big break-out river right below the second drop, which forms a launching area for playing on the bottom wave - watch this as it is constantly changing and has a hard rock wall river left ! The gorge continues with deep boily water below the bridge. Swimmers will not be swept away here, but the vertical rocky sides make getting back into a boat difficult.

The gorge continues with a couple more small drops, each with waves which work well at certain levels. The first seems to have a meaty river-wide stopper at high levels, with back-looping potential (yes, its had me!), but can be skulked close to the wall river right at these levels. The final drop also catches people, as most have relaxed too soon.
As the gorge widens out, it is possible to take out river right. The longer you wait, the shorter and less awkward the climb up to the path, but the longer the carry to the road.
Two km of easy water follows until the Greta comes in from the right - itself a splendid grade IV spate river, but with access problems and some impressive logjams at present. 3 km of grade I paddling, which can be very hard work with a headwind, leads to Whorlton bridge, a rattly wooden-bedded single-track suspension bridge. Immediately below this, river right, is the take-out (£2). If you are quick, you can get out to inspect the fall, and be back on the river to paddle down to Winston without paying the trespass fee, but most folk are content to pay up and finish here.
The 1.25m vertical fall is guarded by an awkward approach which wants to take you off line. There is an innocuous but river-wide stopper to cross, then keep right. Do inspect this, in high water particularly, as a meaty holding stopper forms and at certain levels the drop is unsafe. In very high levels, it can again be shot by keeping very far right over rocks normally dry, and avoiding difficulties on the run-in, but in these conditions, bank support is a good idea, and be aware that a 20m throwline may not reach a swimmer.

Directions:

Put-in
- From the Desmesnes in Barnard Castle - see take out for previous section
Mid-point
- It is possible to put-in just above Abbey Rapids, and/or take-out just below (neither of these access points are permitted in the negotiated agreement, but both are directly adjacent to public rights of way). From Barnard Castle, take the road west from the Market Cross (signed to Bowes Museum) and follow this past the museum and out of the 30 limit. Next right takes you to Abbey Bridge (traffic lights). Cross the bridge. For the put-in above Abbey, turn right on the narrow road, and follow it to the packhorse bridge over Thorsgill Beck. For the take-out below Abbey, follow the main road left, and find a large layby after a couple of hundred metres. Go through the gate at the back of this (closing it carefully, whatever state it was in when you found it), and follow the path until it becomes possible to reach the river. This is easier the further you walk, and easiest when the cliff vanishes completely, at which point, on the river, all worthwhile rapids are behind you.
Take-out
- From the Bowes museum road, go straight on (or, if you are coming back up from Abbey bridge, a useful place to inspect the river level, turn right) through Westwick, and on to Whorlton. Turn right, through the village and carefully through the tyre-bursting traffic calming. The narrow road passes a hairpin, then crosses the suspension bridge. Whorlton Lido is on the left, but as this is now closed to the public, use the roadside parking, being careful not to obstruct the road. You can also reach this point from the main A66 (signposted to Whorlton), and as there is now nowhere to turn round with a trailer, this may well be necessary either coming or going...

Beyond Whorlton

There are mainly easy rapids for the five kilometres down to Winston road bridge, starting with a 1.25m sloping drop soon after the Lido fall. In high spate, some of the rapids form powerful stoppers. Access river left a short way upstream of the Winston bridge (according to the negotiated access), or immediately downstream of the bridge - a bit of a steep carry.

Mostly shingle rapids down to Coniscliffe, and Piercebridge, a bit of a bump and scrape in low water, but a good grade I-II paddle for novices in a bit more water.
Beyond Piercebridge I have never been, although the river looks bigger, flatter, and with a few weirs, especially at Darlington.

Whorlton to Winston is well worth adding on to an Abbey rapids trip if the flow is medium or above. In lower levels this section is great for beginners who want to learn basics and has lots of small surfwaves and holes that are excellent to practice in.

Far downstream

The river matures and meanders, through town and country. We have paddled the stretch from Yarm to Preston Park, which is pleasant enough in an open boat, but a bit tedious in a short whitewater kayak. Sea kayaks would be fine and rowing skiffs may be met further downstream. This section can be paddled upstream as well as downstream, which holds true also all the way down to the tidal section and on to the Tees Barrage, where white water fun can be had once again on the artificial white water course (if the tide is low).

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