LOCATION: Welshpool to Llandrinio
DISTANCE: 9.21 Miles
PADDLING TIME: 3 Hours, 3 Minutes
STRAVA ROUTE: https://www.strava.com/activities/12308195371
Stretching for 220 miles (354km,) the River Severn rises in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales and finishes beneath the Second Severn Crossing of the Severn Estuary, making it the longest river in the United Kingdom (beating the River Thames by 5 miles.)
Having previously paddled much of the Rivers Wye and Thames, the Severn had been next on my SUP “to paddle” list for a number of years. Previous attempts to complete it had been thwarted by high winds and other commitments so, with the glimmer of a promising weather window on the horizon, I waited eagerly in hope the forecast would stay as predicated and give me the 5 days needed to get it done.
Any River which starts life as a spring rather than a confluence means it was never going to be possible for me to paddle its full length. Even with a shorty river fin i'd need a minimum depth of 4" and a river free from fallen trees and obsticals. Add in the Severn Estuary (the largest tidal estuary in the world,) and it would also not be possible to reach its official finish line of the M48 Bridge which connects Wales and England either. That being understood, I started to plan just how much could feasibly be paddled during the first week of September when traditionally, the river would be at it’s lowest point. Making equerries with paddle clubs and hire companies around Newtown, their local knowledge was consistent in affirming starting from Welshpool would provide the best opportunity for not only sufficient water depth but also less chance of fallen trees across the river causing obstructions.
Armed with this knowledge, I started to devour all information i could find including from gopaddling.com and their paddle-points section together with Google maps satellite and street view functions. Both lead me to a starting point of a small lay-by just East of Welshpool where the road runs close to the river and is intersected by the Offa’s Dyke footpath meaning there was public access to the river.
Arriving by train into Welshpool, I had a local taxi booked to transport myself and gear the 2 miles out of town where, the mildly confused driver deposited me in the lay-by amongst big trucks and equally confused motorists. I always find seeing a River for the first time is a special moment. Yes, I’d seen the Severn many times before but not this far upstream and never with the knowledge that this would become my home, my life and my companion for the next 5 and a half days.
As predicted, the river was running low which meant an initial scramble down the 15ft bank via a series of grassy ledges to a small shelf where I could inflate the board and safely get everything ready. Ducking down to the water level immediately ensured the low rumble of traffic noise faded away and, despite still being only 25 meters from the road it felt like the river and I were already alone with no other human life to disturb us.
One annoyance of single direction paddling is you have no choice but to take everything with you can’t leave anything behind to collect once finished. This is fine for things you will require daily like clothes, camping gear and food but, a real pain when having to transport a large SUP bag which never seems to fold down as well as one thinks it should. For this trip I was trialling a new idea which would overcome this issue. Instead of my regular inflatable SUP bag, I had transported my PaddleBoard with the help of a backpack/strap system originally designed for allowing a solid guitar case to be carried on ones back. The idea for SUP transport in this manner is not new but, with official products from companies like RED costing upwards of £145 I thought there must be a cheaper way. I am pleased to report that my hybrid guitar/SUP transport system worked a real treat and, all for the princely sum of £15. (few things in life give as much pleasure as a bargain and opportunity to save a few pennies.) I’ll leave a full breakdown of the equipment I used for a separate page but, I once again placed the waterproof protection of my gear in the hands of Aquapac and their (sadly no longer produced) roll top duffle bags. 45lt bag on the front and a 70lt bag on the back with a little 7lt bag containing daily essentials like snacks and money for easy access and quick pitstops. This was more capacity than I needed once on the river but did I mean, I cad the capcity for my PFD meaning I didn't have to wear it on the train ride up to the start line.
After several aborted attempts to take Instagram worthy photos and record some form of meaningful video introduction it was finally time to get underway. Having spent the day traveling up from my home on the south coast of Dorset it was 15:00 by the time I pushed off from the bank and started my latest SUP river adventure. A few strokes on each side, a moment to take in the surroundings and it was up to my feet and a first few wobbly meters as my brain clicked into adventure mode and the difference of paddling a board laden with gear.
The first few hours would see me paddle 10 miles to my intended camp spot for the first day on the Welsh and English border. Settling into a rhythm and with the road and civilization now fully absent from sight and sound, I was rudely interrupted after only 10 minutes by my first set of rapids for the journey. For most of the year I can imagine the rocks and bubbling white water in front of me would barely register or interrupt the rivers flow but today, there was no choice but to dismount the board and carefully pick my way between the rocks before setting off again 10 meters further down stream. Although there was some good reasonable flow in the river, the depth meant water never went above my knees and was a fun interruption rather than annoying obstacle. My normal preference is to paddle barefoot but, with the assumption I would need to dismount at some pint on the first couple of days I thankfully had some lightweight water shoes on to help protect my feet against underlying rocks and sharp objects as well as giving extra grip against the slippery surfaces.
Meandering along the next few hours the river remained a small, narrow channel in most places. Averaging 5 meters wide and being approximately 7 meters below the level of the bank, this meant although there was nothing really to look at by way of views and vistas but, there was still lots to see. Cows and sheep peered down from the banks, silently cheering me on with quizzical looks whilst multiple Herons, Kingfishers, Swans and other birds all made skittish escapes as soon as I came into view.
At multiple points I was forced to paddle through low hanging branches, navigate around fallen trees and keep a constant eye on the water level to ensure I was in the deepest part of the river. At only one point did I truly run aground which brought me to a shuddering stop and a stumble forward onto my knees. Thankfully this coincided with the only moment I decided to try an capture some video content of paddle skills so the whole episode has been recorded for prosperity (and I’m sure will form part of any talks I give about my journey)
After 3 hours and 9.2 miles (14.8Km) I made it to my camp ground for the evening. As a final treat for the day I encountered my first bridge crossing the river, under which was yet another set of (now slightly larger) rapids for me to navigate before my get out point 10meteres further down stream. Safely through, there was a perfect small sand section to stand on and a rope to tie my board to as bags were unloaded and carried up the slippery steep bank to the camp ground.
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