|
|
GUIDE TO THE RIVER ERME (Harford Bridge to Ivybridge) NAME OF RIVER: Erme. WATER LEVEL, ACCESS AND HAZARD UPDATES: Here. WHERE IS IT?: South Dartmoor. PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: Harford Bridge is the start, take out above weir near the Leisure centre in Ivybridge. In high water, the upper Erme is well worth considering. APPROX LENGTH: 3.5 miles. TIME NEEDED: Plenty first time down (3 hours+?). ACCESS HASSLES: The BCU River Adviser for the Erme is: Bruce Daykin As Ivybridge Town Council was thoughtful enough to give us this agreement we should do everything in our power to maintain it. Be considerate with parking on the tiny lane at the put-in. WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: Don't bother unless it's rained heavily and recently. Look at the weir-like falls under the main bridge in Ivybridge. If it can be paddled, so can the river. The degree of 'scrapey-ness' of this fall gives you an indication of how much you will scrape up at the put-in. If the first ledge is well covered, upstream will be a serious and powerful trip...grade 4 with some 5? If all these falls are WASHED OUT, as we observed in Oct 98, go elsewhere or die. GRADING: To some degree, this river gets progressively harder as you head downstream. It is grade 3-4 in very low water, grade 4 at most levels, getting much harder with higher water levels until it becomes 5-6! MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: Plenty of tree jams along the upper section of the river still remaining from the Oct '98 flood. The most serious section of the river is the final gorge, which can be portaged easily. In high water the narrow slot is a portage. Steve Brooks (Nov 2004)...'There are currently several trees down over the length of this run. Most notable is a large tree which extends underwater a foot in front of and parallel with the hole at the bottom of the weir which could cause pinning potential and would be especially dangerous for swimmers or anyone the wrong way up. There is also a tree down in the gorge under the viaduct by the dog leg falls which although passable with care at present poses a danger to swimmers and will no doubt in time collect more debris and become a big strainer. The local Council will be informed and they may!! remove the trees as a danger to bridges downstream.' GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A brilliant trip! Directly below Harford Bridge, the Erme starts off with a bang, dropping over a series grade 3-4 ledges and bouldery falls. The river then loses gradient and mellows to grade 2-3 with the occasional small drop. There are about three tree blockages in this section (Dec '99), two of which can probably be bypassed at water level. One is a definite portage. After about a mile, the river begins to steepen again. Keep an eye out for when the river drops over a 50 cm ledge....directly downstream the river narrows without warning into an undercut narrow slot. This is paddleable at low water levels but generates plenty of back-loops and swimmers! When the drop into the slot has 'filled up' in higher water, a huge back-tow appears and this innocuous looking slot becomes unpaddleable. Portage on river right Below, the river becomes progressively harder with big stoppers to 'enjoy' in high water; steep and continuous grade 4, but with a few falls you will no doubt recognise... A grade 4 ledge fall directly below the slot on a left-hand bend, followed by several long natural ramps. A long ramp on river right where the river drops sideways to the left...a great boof if you get it right! A series of drops where the river splits around a big midstream rock, with a dangerous rock blocking the obvious route. A rocky weir with a steep left hand chute...plenty of pinning potential here? Paul Bray (Jan 2004)...'The rocky drop you refer to or fish steps/ ladder by the locals did have a wall in the first drop up to a year ago, but a flood combined with trees removed it thus making the drop much friendlier with almost no pinning possibilities although paddlers need to make their own inspection.' Below the weir river steepens through two distinct rapids towards the railway viaduct, stop ABOVE this; it is the point of no return for...the Erme Gorge! The Erme Gorge must be inspected on river right for tree blockages. When you are in, it's fast, narrow and committing...a swim would be long and probably lonely. There are two sharp right-hand bends leading to drops into undercut grottos...the 'doglegs'. After the gorge, you may feel very mellow, but don't wind down just yet...the final falls in the centre of Ivybridge are surprisingly steep and have pinning potential. In higher water levels, you have a big stopper to avoid at the bottom too. I've seen this hole achieve the impossible...it dented in both ends of a Spud! The take-out is just below, when you reach a footbridge. Beware of carrying on over a dodgy weir beside a Sports Centre. OTHER NOTES: I've had umpteen runs on this river, but it never gets dull...a personal favourite! CONTRIBUTED BY: Mark Rainsley, also Steve Brooks, Dillon Hughes, Anthony Reed, Paul Bray and Andrew Crompton. |
|
|