River Lune - Rawthey Confluence to Rigmaden Bridge
- Details
- Last Updated on Wednesday, 19 January 2011 13:27
- Written by Mark Benson.
GUIDE TO THE RIVER LUNE
(Rawthey Confluence to Rigmaden Bridge)
NAME OF RIVER: Lune.
WATER LEVEL, ACCESS AND HAZARD UPDATES:Here.
WHERE IS IT?: It flows down from the Pennines and Eastern Lake District towards Lancaster.
PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS:
Launch at the layby beside the Rawthey confluence. To access here - stick to the footpath opposite the layby until it nears the river to find a good launch point. Note driving
from Kirby Lonsdale direction, there are two laybys on the right of the road...you want the second to drop off boats and boaters, though the first can sometimes be the better choice for parking up.
Take out at Rigmaden Bridge, which is on the road signposted 'Old Town' off the A683 (SD616847). Park on downstream river left. Access to the river is via a footpath through a gate on downstream river right. Or, continue down the following enjoyable stretch.
APPROX LENGTH: 3 miles.
TIME NEEDED: 1 hour at a moderate pace with a good water level.
ACCESS HASSLES: Latest BCU access advice (Nov 2009) for the Lune can be found here. The current BCU Access Advisor is Mike Sunderland ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as of 4th January 2009)
WATER LEVEL INDICATORS:
GRADING: 1-2.
MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS:
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: River from here to Rigmaden is of similar nature to the section below Rigmaden and makes for a worthwhile extended trip - especially in higher water.
OTHER NOTES:
CONTRIBUTED BY: Mark Benson.
015242 74434
henry.armitage@davis-bowring.co.uk
The general document can be found here and the access agreement for the section from Rigmaden Bridge can be found here.
I do have my own comment to make on this, however. Canoe England's current policy is only to negotiate or re-negotiate agreements where access restrictions are put in place solely on sound environmental reasons and not at the behest of other user groups and landowners. Good practice for the Lakes can be seen in the case of the Greta agreement. Restrictions on numbers and the requirement of advance bookings are also undesirable.
In my opinion (and apparently that of the national governing body) the agreement for this section of the Lune is clearly in contravention of CE policy and best practice. I am frankly surprised that local or regional CE River Advisers would sign up to this.