Friday 1st March 24
Height 0.67m
Rob H
It’s been a couple of years since I’ve paddled the crake even though it is my nearest river.
We have paddled this river many times over the years as it was paddlable when most rivers were empty, it used to be a great trip after work on a Friday afternoon.
Duddon canoe club used to do an open boat trip every few years from the top of Coniston to canal foot (lake, river and sea) which was always a great day out. I was thinking of giving this a go but with the latest reports of the overgrown trees I needed to check the river out first.
So I put a trip on and was joined by Andy M, Paul H, and Tom P starting from the lay-by close to the lake North of Brown Howe.
The lake was quite choppy but flattened off the closer we got to the river mouth. Passing through Allan tarn our first challenge was to find our way through all the overgrown trees. Things improved until we arrived at Nibthwaite rapid which had a tree overhanging the start. Paul soon had his trusty saw out and we manged to drag it out of harms way. All safely through Nibthwaite we had some time playing on the weir below the gauging station
Carrying on down we were still dodging trees, some even submerged. The run down to Bobbin Mill was quite pleasant, the rapid running well with plenty of head room under the foot bridge. With one of the group checking how dry his dry suit was.
With a short rest on spark bridge green we were on our way again, our final challenge, by the water treatment plant, was a totally tree blocked river which meant a portage.
The last leg was more relaxing with a gentle flow down to Greenodd
In spite of the trees it was still a good day out with great company.
Rob H
Lakeland Canoe Club 