Graveyard (Tryweryn)

One of our most exciting slalom courses. Not as scary as the name makes it sound, but quick and tight. The problems come thick and fast, and the way you handle one gate must set you up for the next. The guidebook says ‘it’s an excellent, continuous class III+/IV- rapid’.

The river accelerates from the warm-up area into a series of small drops, enters a mid-course pool – a classic location for breakout gates and crosses – then plunges again down a fast drop before slowing along a tricky, boulder-strewn channel to the finish.

The course is part of the Welsh National Whitewater Centre (Canolfan Tryweryn) and if you go up there to train before race day you will have to pay to get on the water. There are hot showers in the Centre, which justify the fee all on their own in cold weather. You can check for water releases and book online at https://www.nationalwhitewatercentre.co.uk/paddler-info#BookYourPlace.  Your Home Nations membership  gets you a lower rate.

The water levels – 7 to 12 cumecs – don’t sound very big, but the gradient makes them challenging. This is not the course for your first Div 2 race unless you have quite a bit of whitewater experience, but it is a great place to build up top-level slalom skills.