Afon Goedal

[Mark R]

Read full River Guide

[Dan Yates.]

If this is the take out I think it is it is only about half way down. If you carry on downstream the drops get increasingly exciting until you need to portage 2 or may be 3 all in one go on the right hand bank . The portage is easier than it looks and only takes about 15mins and doesn't require any ropes or anything . You can then get back in for one final rapid which leads to a footbridge with a public footpath. Take out here river left and follow the footpath to the road , on the opposite side (left hand side ) of the road is a layby by a house with a phonebox (a mile or 2 down the road from the parking spot in the guide). It is well worth doing this 2nd half even if just because of the stunning gorge it runs through , a SSSI and managed by the woodland trust .

Dan Yates

[Ieuan Belshaw]

Yeah it is where your thinking of, I've walked next to the section you described and it is a stunning gorge, very few venture down there. I've heard mixed opinions about paddling it saying its not worth it and the portages were tricky. I found waking around them hard enough without any gear. Most of the drops looked manky too but that's without water!

The guide includes what I found was the best section with easiest in's and out's and best drops but you've perked my curiosity to go have a further look :-).

I don't have the knowledge for an accurate guide for this section but drop me a message if you think it's worth including.

[Dan Yates.]

I think there is a debate locally of whether the Goedal is worth doing at all . The phrase "something bad always happens" has been used to describe it . However if you are going to do it , you might as well do it all. In good flows the rapids from the bottom of the first gorge to the top of the second are all pretty nice and quite close together making that section good grade 4 all the way. You portage the unrunnables all in one go high on the right bank and it's really not too bad. Go explore , you'll like it (unless something bad happens).

[Ieuan Belshaw]

The Goedal is defiantly worth doing, only ever done the top section but its a favorite. Never had any problems on it and the walk out from half way is short enough :).

Next time I'm in the area I'll have a play on the lower section and see what happens, hopefully nothing bad..! Thanks for the heads up on where to portage.