WHITE WATER WINNERS

Wednesday, 25 March 2009

Canoe heaven saved by Wye enthusiasts

CANOEISTS have pulled off a masterstroke by completing a £125,000 fundraising project to save the challenging rapids section of the River Wye at Symonds Yat.
Known nationwide as a top tourist attraction, the Yat Gorge’s historic rapids were facing extinction 14 years ago when the previous owners proposed flattening the river bed to improve fishing.
But canoeists and nature lovers mustered under the umbrella of the Symonds Yat Rapids Management Group to buy, stabilise and improve the river bed to ensure wild water alongside conservation.
Now work on upgrading the river bed at the rapids has just finished and supporters are set to hold an official opening this Saturday with canoeing displays and lectures.
Campaign spokesman Graham Symonds, who runs canoe trips, said: “This is truly a history-making project. The rapids have been purchased by canoeists and the British Canoe Union so people can enjoy this area for years to come.”
The rapids will be officially opened at 1pm alongside the Royal Hotel, followed by a mass descent into the water by canoeists and freestyle, slalom, rescue and whitewater displays. 
Riding the rapids became a must-do on the Wye Tour of the late 18th century – a rowing trip down the river – undertaken by the likes of poets Wordsworth and Tennyson and naval hero Nelson, which is regarded as the beginning of the British tourism industry.
After a crisis meeting of paddlers, a national fundraising appeal to buy and preserve the rapids was launched in 1998 at the International Canoe Exhibition at the NEC, with donations flooding in from schools, scout groups, canoe clubs and individuals around the country.
The ongoing appeal has raised more than £50,000, with the Environment Agency contributing another £50,000 and the BCU a further £25,000. As a result, the BCU now owns the River Wye from the upstream limit of the fishery to 300 metres downstream from the head of the island.
A water hydraulics engineer was brought in to design the works which saw boulders moved to form 10 new underwater groynes, and the island protected with rock upstream end and planted with trees to preserve wildlife.
Parking for the opening is available at Wyedean Canoe Centre or the Royal Hotel, with a pig roast at the Lodge Hotel from 5pm.

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