Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view
Good friend of Unsponsored, Sam Ellis hit the River Swale a couple of days ago. Levels were good as were the lines.
The River Swale sits within Swaledale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It is an awesome river in stunning surroundings. When it goes it has to be one of the best waterfall runs in the UK. So here we have it Sam Ellis – River Swale Dec 15. Lots of drops and a swim along the way.
This one is well worth a watch to the very end.
The Swale, for many the most enjoyable, hassle free section of Class 4 (occasionally 5) in the UK. It’s all down to preference of course, however, a little time invested in this true classic normally leaves paddlers with a beaming smile.

At its source, about 2 miles upstream of Keld, the Swale picks up pace and, set amongst some stunning scenery and isolated gorges, this river drops like a stone and often rises just as quickly: we recently witnessed the river rising 50cm within the hour it took us to complete the run. It rose a further 10cm in the time it took to get changed and do a shuttle; a factor that should be borne in mind when paddling this stretch after heavy rainfall. Potentially difficult to judge accurately, running this little gem has been made much more reliable since the introduction of the environment agency river levels gauge. This provides the source data for the invaluable Rainchasers site (http://rainchasers.com/river): an excellent information resource for which we are enormously grateful to Rob Tuley and crew supporting the site.
Beater Tuesday – an after work smash and grab at Aysgarth Falls, with a little added excitement….
From the home of some of the best Fish & Chips in the world comes Whitby Wishy Washy – a tale of creek boat surfing here in the UK. Sam Ellis and Martyn Butler star in this North East epic.
The Washburn is great little run in North Yorkshire.
Sam’s new video running that fall.
A NORTH YORKSHIRE STOUT from sam ellis on Vimeo.
40ft’r on a trib of the River Swale. North Yorkshire, UK.
Photos: Phil Higgins
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