The North Tyne has to be one of the classic ww runs in the North East of England. The water is clean, access is pretty good and you can get down in all but the very lowest of levels. The get in is at the small village of Chollerford just a few miles North of Hexam itself. Parking can be found in a large lay by on the west side of the bridge (just over the roundabout). It’s then a short walk back over to the east side of the bridge and path down to the river.
The North Tyne is a great introduction to grade II/III water. For the freestyle paddle a number of decent play opportunities do exist along the North Tyne’s length. The paddle down from Chollerford can be quite interesting with a number of places to stop and play along the way. Releases from Kielder Dam are quite frequent through the winter months which means that at high levels the whole river becomes a play park of grade III/IV.
The 1st few miles is a comfortable grade II with Roman fortifications and plenty of wildlife lining the way. All the rapids are easily negotiated and playspots found along the entire run. Very few long flat sections exist so its not to much of a long slog in short playboats.
The river spices up a little as you reach the “Chicken Shoot” which signals the approach of Wardens Gorge.
The river splits at this point and is funneled (river right) down a short mill race, and river left down a rocky rapid. The area in between holds a small fall that can be shot in the centre.
The next rapid is Wardens Gorge. This rapid offers the greatest diversity. The gorge has gained quite a reputation from paddlers on the “Tyne Tour”, but is really a straight forward rapid with plenty of eddies on the way down. The land river right is privately owned and should not be used for inspection. Inspection is possible river left but is difficult due to the terrain.
The gorge can be accessed via two routes:
1. A three/four mile paddle down grade II/III water from Chollerford.
2. Short carry in from the confluence of the two Tynes near the village of Acomb.
At extreme levels the lower part of the gorge is dominated by a large wave/hole. I have ran the N Tyne at this level a number of times. It is possible to avoid the stopper but it is tight. If you miss the line (extreme river left) then you will be in for a kicking. Use your own judgment, if the water is well up into the trees and there is a transit van size stopper – go to the pub. At low to medium levels a really nice/tame wave is formed.
After the gorge a series of small rapids with obvious lines and then flatwater leads you down to the confluence of the Tynes. Here the river is wide and deep before narrowing and flowing under the A69 road bridge and on to Hexam.
You can choose to get out at the confluence of the North and South Tynes (river left) and walk up to the track/road toward the A6079 and Acomb. Don’t leave cars at the confluence as breakins are a regular occurence. You are better off leaving a car in the village of Acomb and taking a short walk from the river to collect it. Alternatively you could paddle down to Hexam and Tyne green. At anything but high levels this long flat paddle can be a little tedious!
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