GUIDE TO THE RIVER SEVERN
(Ironbridge to Bridgnorth)
NAME OF RIVER: Severn.
WHERE IS IT?: Ironbridge, Shropshire. This is just a short stretch of the longest river in Britain.
PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: Start in the town of Ironbridge (enjoy the industrial museums first) easiest at Dale End Country Park, (just upstream of Ironbridge City Centre) or start at Jackfields Rapids about a mile downstream.
Egress; easiest at large park upstream river left of Bridgnorth town centre (Off Telford road).
APPROX LENGTH: 9 miles.
TIME NEEDED: 2-3 hours?
ACCESS HASSLES: Right of navigation?
WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: Can be paddled at all levels.
GRADING: Grade 1...riffly rapids or flat, apart from Jackfields Rapids, a short grade 2 rapid.
MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS:Jackfields Rapids is a harder rapid.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Starting in Ironbridge, you get to paddle under Abraham Darby III's famous bridge of iron and you also get to warm up before Jackfields Rapids which are about a mile below the town. See the Jackfields Rapids guide for more information. You pass under a bridge just after the rapids and after another mile is Coalport bridge with a small rapid under it. The following stretch has no special features other than pleasant hill scenery and meandering currents...a delight for novices, I myself learned to paddle on moving water here. When you reach Bridgenorth, there are plenty of possible places to stop.
OTHER NOTES: Consider carrying on to Bewdley.
Jim Thornton (April 2004)...'I have put together an itinerary for the Severn.' (original link invalid, recovered from archive)
Also, take a look at this.
CONTRIBUTED BY: Mark Rainsley, also Jim Thornton and Steve Kirby (Birmingham University and Cambridge University Canoe Clubs).
