NAME OF RIVER: Tame.

WHERE IS IT?: Kingsbury, near Tamworth. Map.

PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: Park in the Mill Crescent shops (B78 2NW) car park to get ready (the shop owners don't mind you getting ready there, but ask that you move the cars further up the road when preperations complete).

The take out is Belvoir, Dosthill (B77 1JJ).

APPROX LENGTH: 3.5 miles.

TIME NEEDED: We took about 2 hours with some stops for training on the way.

ACCESS HASSLES: Everyone we met was friendly, from the aforementioned shopkeepers to the fishermen. There is a clay pigeon shooting club about half way down that shoot across the river, but they stopped to let us past.

WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: Most of the river consists of slides and falls into deep but small pools, as such it will run when local water levels are very low, at high water levels it would be a serious undertaking. Have a look at the first few falls and slides which are close to the road and make your own mind up.

Ryan Govan (June 2005)...'Guys, this needs water; the water level in the photos is not kayaking, it's people going plastic canyoning.'

GRADING: 1.

MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: None.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A pleasant short river trip which our club uses as an introduction to moving water. Excellent river for novices to practice moving water skills such as ferry gliding, eddy turns etc in an environment where the chance of swimming is low.

OTHER NOTES: It runs through Kingsbury Water park, so there is a chance of seeing some wildlife (we saw a tawny owl and a buzzard being mobbed by crows). It is a nice Sunday morning paddle.

Has anyone paddled other sections of the Tame?

CONTRIBUTED BY: PhilC. Club: Tamworth Canoe Club.