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GUIDE TO THE RIVER AFFRIC (Abhainn Afraig) NAME OF RIVER: River Affric (Abhainn Afraig). Probably the finest river in Scotland you'll never paddle. WHERE IS IT?: East of Inverness. Inverness-shire. Maps...OS sheets 25 and 26. PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: Put in: OS ref 283283 on sheet 25 (yes I've checked the ref) beside a picnic site and forestry bridge. Get out at a road bridge near the power station. Ref: 320295. sheet 26. APPROX LENGTH: 4 km. TIME NEEDED: Forever. ACCESS SITUATION: See the SCA Access notes on Scotland. WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: Only paddleable on rare occasions. The Affric follows a Glen of the same name famous for its beauty and remnant Caledonian forest. The attractions of the Glen have survived the massive hydro schemes which exploit its lochs, sadly the lure of the river to paddlers has not as it rarely has any water in it. I got the chance to paddle it in July '96 when the dam was being repaired and water released. They said "this is a one off, you'll never get another chance, not at your age, at any rate." GRADING: Mainly 4 and 5 but two falls of 6+. MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: Dog Falls, Badger Falls...both lethal falls which must be portaged. GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The first 1/2 km is pleasant and gentle, about grade 3+ down to the Dog Falls. There is nothing complicated about these falls. It's a simple case of portage or die. Re-entry on river left. After that the action hots up a bit and eventually another really big fall is reached (possibly called Badger Falls?). I think anybody who tries to run these falls will die in the attempt. I ran the river with some friends who were doing a repeat descent. On the first run they paddled a grade 5 just above the big one. AJ had no problems but Duncan, a really solid roller, ended up doing the front crawl and just made the eddy on the lip of a gigantic 3-tiered drop. His Topo kayak made the first descent and was recovered later with a radically restructured bow and no grab loop. On my descent, we all portaged the grade 5. The portage of the big fall called for a lot of teamwork. Ropes useful but not essential. On and on. Endless grade 4/5 and then the rooster's tail fall. This is easy. It is said. Go to the right of the rooster's tail. You slide down really smoothly", they said, whoosh along a cushion and into the pool". Everybody else seemed to manage. I took photos. Nobody said pass the rooster's tail pointing left to right. I went straight down and hit half the solid geology in Inverness-shire, straight through the cushion, nose of Diablo bent skywards. Towards the end it eases off. At Fasnakyle House, the bonglies (white settlers) in residence have put sign on the lawn saying, 'Trespassers will be whipped and sent to the colonies'. AJ wanted to go back to NZ. I used to have a driving licence headed Kenya Colony but I doubt if they can turn the clock back that much. There is a good play stopper near the end but I was too knackered to enjoy it! Get out at a road bridge near the power station. OTHER NOTES: PS I don't do committees (usually). Life's too short but I met somebody at an Access Committee meeting a couple of years back who said he'd just done the Affric so maybe they do let a little water out now and again. CONTRIBUTED BY: Ron Cameron. |
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