RIVER EAMONT (Ullswater to Brougham Castle)

[Mark R]

Guide.

[Monkey Magic]

Will be good for days as backed up by lake

[Pete K]

Paddled this river on 5th Jan 2011 from Pooley Bridge to Eamont Bridge in an open canoe. Sadly little info available for this trip online so here is my report.

Access was sorted quickly with a very freindly lady at Dalemain Estate who passed us the number for the landowner at Brougham Castle Bridge if we wanted to egress there. The access is as simple as 1 or 2 phonecalls to very nice people so don't the p*** and check http://www.cumbriacanoeists.org.uk.

We had one van and 2 people so we were looking for a trip were the shuttle would be possible and not a nightmare. This worked well, I dropped my girlfriend off with the boat at the car park in Pooley Bridge (toilets and shop to hand) and headed to Eamont Bridge in the van. Parking was a problem here but I found a layby at the far end of the road away from the river and up by the anchient earthworks that was out of the way but safely visable. This is only 5 mins walk from the river get off and when we got there I drove the van down to the get off to load - the get off under Eamont Bridge is residential parking, only use this area for loading.
I then walked up to the Pub and caught the bus (108 I think) which dropped me off in Pooley Bridge 20 minutes later next to the car park. Simples.

The water level was checked at Pooley Bridge, the full width of the river was in water and it would have been calves deep in the centre arch. This was the minimum that we would have liked for the trip but it was enough. This translated to roughly 50/55cm on the Environment Agency gauge at Eamont Bridge. Again, this was a low flow but gave us no problems and was a nice gentle paddle.

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/120711.aspx?stationId=5046

The 1st weir (modern) was only running in the centre and was a nice glassy wave, no problems there.
The stepping stones were just passable without contact.
The 2nd weir (old small) at Dalemain just above a confluence was low. The RH channel was fine at his level but swept into branches and as we were on our own we opted to portage, which was very easy on the left.
The 3rd weir at Stainton Island was only passable right of the island and was kicking up a good spray. This was all shout and we shot it on the obvious tongue. Be prepared to break out right quickly as the flow pushes you into the left bank, easy manouvre but be ready. Portage would be easy at far right hand bank. Over the next 100m we passed a 'led group' or rather the instructor fishing 2 canoes worth of clients off the bank after they failed to make the breakout!
The 4th weir (big sloper) was met just short of the M6. This only had one line at this flow - left of centre. The weir forms a double step with some rocks near the second short drop. We were not confident solo on this one so made a slightly thorny portage on the left bank. There was very little tow back at this level.
Trees were not much hassle and the trip was very nice, a good beginners trip at this level. I'd like to do this section again with high water.

We passed under Eamont Bridge and egressed immediatly on the right up a steep slope onto a gravel track. The right hand bank has a private property sign unfortunatly as it looks much easier. As described above it was a 5 minute walk to the van and a 30 second drive back to load the boat (Transit van just fits through gate). Please change discreetly and quickly here.

Time taken with inspections and a 20 min tea stop: 2.5 hours
Shuttle set up time: 45 min if you know the bus timetable

Pete Knight
TrueGritInstruction.com

[Jim Pullen]

Thanks for the info Pete, all very useful, but would you mind clarifying what you mean by:

Access was sorted quickly with a very freindly lady at Dalemain Estate who passed us the number for the landowner at Brougham Castle Bridge if we wanted to egress there. The access is as simple as 1 or 2 phonecalls to very nice people so don't take the p*** and check http://www.cumbriacanoeists.org.uk.

What do Dalemain Estates currently expect canoeists to do on the access front? And do you actually cross any of their land when you access the river?

[Pete K]

Info is in the rivers section of this site and backed up by other sites including Cumbria Canoeist.

http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/nwengland/eamont.htm

No paddling in November due to salmon spawning. Quick call to Dalemain Estate to log our intent to paddle about 30 mins before getting on the water. We had no fee charged but were asked to ring another number if we wanted to get off at Brougham as it was private land. Very pleasant lady on phone who asked for a name and number. No conditions imposed, they just wanted to check that there would be no conflicts between fishermen as it does apparently get quite busy.

Access is from public path in Pooley Bridge or directly off Ullswater. Egress as described in above post.

So I know that we aren't in fishing season and we were accessing from a public right of way but it seemed pointless to ignore the access arrangement and potentially antagonise the landowner. Not my patch so I'll leave it to the locals to debate the agreement.

A very nice river trip with some interesting wiers.

[Jim Pullen]

Thanks Pete, I've been editing and updating the guides on this site for the Northwest region for the past few years and haven't received any updates on this, hence my question on the current state of play.

If Dalemain Estates are indeed taking a practical approach to this, not requiring payment or extensive pre-booking, then this sounds sensible enough. I'd argue against a blanket ban on November paddling and suggest a spate clause similar to the Greta and Derwent arrangements, but in any case it's nice to know that the landowners stance seems to have relaxed somewhat.

[ruralweb]

Paddled this last week with no problems. Following the recent canoeing death on the river at Stainton Island, when I spoke to Dalemain yesterday (Tuesday) they were concerned that the river was too high to be safe even though I was intending paddling the river two days later - they asked me to call back on Thursday morning to check with them that the level was not too high!

My advice for paddlers traveling specifically to paddle this river is to maintain good contact with Dalemain and certainly call the day before to check all is ok.

[ruralweb]

A notice was placed in the local papers this weekend by the River Eamont Landowners Association stating that legal action will be taken against anyone navigating the river Eamont without the permission of Dalemain Estate office.

Paddled the river again this week with no problems at all - there was also a group of about 20 Army Cadets on the water.

[KDMS]

I love this river. Best in canoe as there is a fair bit of flat. Can hold its water for around a week after a good dump of rain. I paddled it the day before the incident that was mentioned previous (the highest I have seen it) and, although challenging, a careful approach, even with novices, will see you home same. The last weir is advised to paddle right of centre in High water though this can not be paddled in low water and the main channel river left is a fun option.

I have taken novice river paddlers down this river several times. It is a great introduction to river running in canoe, solo or tandem. There are several waves that will hold a canoe if you fancy a little surf.

This is one of my favourite river in the area. An absolute gem on my door step!!!