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GUIDE TO THE RIVER TAY (SCA Access Point to Grandtully) NAME OF RIVER: Tay WHERE IS IT?: Tayside! Flows out of Loch...Tay. The Tay offers paddling for many levels from flat touring to whitewater and the national slalom site at Grandtully. The river can be paddled all the way from Loch Tay to the North Sea at Dundee. The river is normally paddled at well known and well used sections. PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: SCA Access point (GR883516) to Grandtully. The get in point is tricky to find but cross the bridge from the main road at Grandtully and head upstream on the north side. A track on the left leading down a steep hill takes you to the car park. APPROX LENGTH: 4 km. TIME NEEDED: Various. ACCESS SITUATION: It should be remembered that the Tay is a well-used fishing river so it is worth keeping an eye out. WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: Stays paddleable for much of the year. GRADING: Grade 3. MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: Grandtully rapids. Rob Bouchard...'Paddled the Tay (Perthshire) Tuesday 3rd Feb 2004, the river was high after much rain and melt water, had a great day paddling the Aberfeldy / Grandtully section in my Gumotex Palava 2 man open inflatable canoe. We did this section twice and Grandtully was running high, a good grade 3. Second run down Grandtully we broke out into the large eddy behind the bridge, river left, to empty some water. Whilst peeling out for the rest of the ride we got knocked over and ended up swimming the final drop into a tree. This tree is river left and gave us quite a scare pinning us for what felt like a number of minutes. Recommend you stay mid river after the bridge to avoid repeating our experience.' GENERAL DESCRIPTION: This section finishes off with the natural white water slalom course. The first couple of kilometres have a couple of meaty rapids which are not technical but quite bouncy. Grandtully itself is a long big rapid with permanent gates. There are national and international meets as well as national squad training here on many weekends so it may be wise to check in advance. The rapids are easily inspected from the car park opposite Grandtully Hotel which sells some fine soup on those cold winter days. It changes dramatically with water level. In high water it can best be described as huge and a ride reminiscent of a rollercoaster. In low water a number of large rocks come into play. The normal approach is from centre to left above the first main rock which in low water is taken tight to the left the keep to the left bank down to the bridge. A few hundred yards past the bridge is a small weir drop. In high water this should be shot on the right and there can be a substantial stopper at the bottom. In lower water it splits into two smaller drops. Most people choose to get out here as the next stretch to Stanley is long, flat and decidedly uninteresting. OTHER NOTES: Pretty well guaranteed water. The river can also be paddled higher from Loch Tay or Aberfeldy. See also Paul Cromey's article on paddling the Dochart and Tay. CONTRIBUTED BY: St. Andrew's Uni, Dave Bradshaw, Rob Bouchard and Mark Rainsley. |
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