NAME OF RIVER: Wnion.

WHERE IS IT?: North Wales. Runs through Dolgellau into the Mawddach Estuary. OS Sheet 124.

PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: Put in by a bridge just off the A494, a mile or so upstream of Rhydymain.

Take out at Bont Newydd (bridge).

APPROX LENGTH: 3 miles.

TIME NEEDED: 3 hours.

ACCESS SITUATION: Jealously guarded game fishing river so no welcome in this valley for paddlers. Efficiency and discretion recommended at the access and egress points.

Dave Evans (2/11/03)...'We were about to get on the Wnion which looked to be in excellent condition. Met the local access officer who told us to use the public footpath to get access. We were about to get on when a farmer approached us and told us there would be trouble if we paddled the river as salmon were spawning currently. Although sympathetic to local issues I find it difficult to believe that four canoes going down a river with that much white water could possibly affect the fish in. Anyway however after much discussion we decided to go elsewhere (the Eden). We would probably have run the river had we not feared for our cars. Is there anywhere I could read about this kind of situation so that in future I can argue our case? Having driven from Sheffield we were quite gutted to have to walk away from such a gem.'

WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: Photos attached show low water conditions (April, no rain in the previous few days). Be aware that there are quite a few tributaries below the get-in, so don't judge the volume at the put-in alone.

GRADING: Grade 4 (5 in flood?). Note that flood conditions may add a grade to the difficulty...see Wnion trip in Jerry Murland's WW diary for Oct 25th 1999.

MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: This is a tree lined river and quite narrow in places, so tree strainers are something to watch out for. This is especially so for the bottom gorge section. My guess is that eddies are few and difficult (trees) in high conditions.

There was a death on this river due to pinning some years ago.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: ICCC did this in April 1988 in low conditions, as shown in the photos. Being so long ago I can remember none of the detail just that this was a
good paddle despite the lack of water, and we did the Mawddach the same day.

Basically there are three sections:-

1) Top - easy at grade II (III)
2) Middle - more continuous grade III becoming grade IV. In particular there is an open gorge section which gets narrow and twisty.
3) Bottom - fast section through a walled-in gorge.

OTHER NOTES: This was a great little trip and first appeared in a guidebook in Terry Storry's 'Snowdonia WW, Sea and Surf' (1986!), so it is surprising that it isn't so well travelled as some of the others nearby.

The Mawddach and Eden are very close by.

CONTRIBUTED BY: Mark Benson, years after the event! Also Dave Evans.

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