Tubing on the dart

[Kemics]

Hi everyone, apologies if this is the wrong place to post.

I'm planning on floating down a section of the dart this weekend in a big innertube. I was asking for advice on a climbing forum and was pointed in this direction. In climbing we have access issues with land owners and i'm told this is true for kayaking too? (fish breeding grounds etc.) So just wanted to get a little bit of advice so I don't end up pissing anyone off. Last thing we want to do is jeopardise access for river users.

Ideally we are looking for a section of river that is a) acceptable to use and b) suitable for swimming. We'll have surf winter wet suits and are all reasonable swimmers so dont mind a little white water but nothing with a risk of being held under or hurt in.

I'm told maybe a section of the loop would be suitable?

Massively appreciate any advice :)

[Mark Dixon]

Yes, weve tubed the Upper Dart a couple times in lower levels, I would suggest the Loop would be a good plan as with all the rain it could be on the higher side this weekend at times, from Newbridge to Holne Bridge.
Check this river guage out http://apps.environment-agency.gov.uk/r ... ionId=3212
Its 1.33 at moment which is pretty high, I would not want to be tubing above 1.0 I'd say as a maximum thats for sure but dont know much about your sport so you'd have to make the call on the day.
You will have no issues whatsoever with any landowners if you are careful where you get in and out

Mark

[jam bo]

Best wear a helmet though or you'll incur the wrath of the river police...

[gp.girl]

Best wear a helmet though or you'll incur the wrath of the river police...

Or the rocks :)

[Kemics]

Cool thanks for the advice guys! Really appreciated.

I will wear a helmet. I may even wear a buoyancy aid... I'm quite happy to offset my coolness vs not drowning.

I'm a touch concerned it has rained incessantly for about a week. Is the river going to be very full and dangerous this weekend? Which would be the safest/slowest section of the dart?

[gp.girl]

Will drop very quickly once the rain stops. Currently huge/high! http://rainchasers.com/?q=dart The tube will disappear very quicky if you let go and walking out is not fun. On the loop there's a lot of big wavetrains and some holes and Holme Weir will try to kill you. Tree hugging is a really bad idea too. The Upper will be worse (I think) Lower has less features and is mostly washed out at current levels. Personally I'd go for just below the slab ( get in at newbridge) to run it on a tube, enough water to be fun and cover the rocks so you don't have to walk down some bits :( then again I'd take some safety kayakers too.

[Kemics]

Will drop very quickly once the rain stops. Currently huge/high! http://rainchasers.com/?q=dart The tube will disappear very quicky if you let go and walking out is not fun. On the loop there's a lot of big wavetrains and some holes and Holme Weir will try to kill you. Tree hugging is a really bad idea too. The Upper will be worse (I think) Lower has less features and is mostly washed out at current levels. Personally I'd go for just below the slab ( get in at newbridge) to run it on a tube, enough water to be fun and cover the rocks so you don't have to walk down some bits :( then again I'd take some safety kayakers too.

Would it be possible to get out and walk round any gnarly bits? or would we just end up walking most of it? :)

[gp.girl]

You can walk round most of it but getting out could be difficult and the bank ranges from nice path to overgrown with hidden ditches! Can be useful to scout out the rapid ahead so you don't just float into the unknown. I think you might end up walking quite a lot. Safety wise how many of you? Anyone with experience of moving water? People and kit can go a long way very quickly in moving water so you need to be prepared for surprises. Holme weir is well signposted and an easy portage on the left and you'd be unlikely to get into touble, just can be very serious if you did. People do the Loop in and on canoes/kayaks/sitontops/standuppaddle boards and mostly have a great time.

Can anyone suggest other rivers/sections?

[Kemics]

thanks. I really appreciate your help/advice.

3 of us going. I'm going to borrow some kayak life vests from a friend. Maybe a throw line too?

plan is tomorrow I'm going to walk the river to see how intimidating it looks and get a feel for any sketchy bits. Also get an idea for how high the water is.

[gp.girl]

How many rocks/faster flowing it is below newbridge will give you an idea how the rest of the trip will be. Throw line is useful but not sure how you'd carry it, take a knife and mobile. River level is what it is when you get there, gauge says huge 1 hour ago and it will be very fast and dangerous but that can change. By sunday it will have dropped and you could even have a trial run where the path follows the bank. Practice with the throw line too or it's not a lot of use. Videos on youtube etc to give you and the swimmer an idea of what to do and plenty of the loop (it looks a lot bigger in real life). There'll be lots of people around as the Dart is a busy river so you can watch some live action.

[Kemics]

Went for a look today and it was huge. No chance im going in there. Looks like people were having a blast with the kayaks. Every car I passed had a roof full of boats :)

[Mark Dixon]

Went for a look today and it was huge. No chance im going in there. Looks like people were having a blast with the kayaks. Every car I passed had a roof full of boats :)

Probably all gone by tomorrow morning

[Mark Dixon]

It should be good to go for a tubing adventure today, dropped right down