GUIDE TO THE RIVER TILL
(Etal Village to Twizel Village)
NAME OF RIVER: Till.
WHERE IS IT?: North Northumberland NR Berwick upon Tweed. Map.
PUT-INS/ TAKE-OUTS: Put in at Etal above broken weir Takeout Twizel Bridge on right hand side.
APPROX LENGTH: Main section between Etal and Twizel Bridge is 10 km.
TIME NEEDED: 2-3 hours.
ACCESS HASSLES: No problem except for homeowner at weir near end of trip (just paddle straight through the section and there should be no problems). Please watch for fishermen, give them plenty of room and we can all get along fine!
Andrew B (April 2004)...'Possible problem at Heatherslaw mill but between Etal and Twizel just a possible landowner.'
WATER LEVEL INDICATORS: If the water is pouring over the high ledge at the weir in Etal it's paddleable, if the whole weir is pouring over it'll be a good fun trip.
GRADING: 2/ 3.
MAJOR HAZARDS/ FALLS: water fall after about 1 1/2km can have a strong tow back in high water as can the vertical weir near end of trip.
Andrew B (April 2004)...'Broken weir at Etal but no problems, several reasonable drops en route and a large weir at about 7 km with a 2m drop...I went over just left of centre and it was fine and another broken weir shortly after. Can be viewed at river right or portaged here. Feb 2004, there is alarge fallen tree blocking most of the river at about 6km'
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Put on at the weir in Etal, the pool above is good for a warm up, the chute through the weir is good fun at most water levels with a nice little hole for blunts etc.. moving down river there are plenty of spots for river running skills. After 1 1/2km there's a small fall which is best shot on the right or left, and can have a strong tow back in high water. More play sections lead to a stopper at a broken weir just down from Twizel Farm, good fun in all water, but beware the exit we've seen a few paddles broken here. A flat section leads to the vertical weir, best shot in the middle (don't go down the step section on the right) this can have a strong tow back at low flows but shouldn't cause a problem to most, portage and inspect on river right if need be (see notes). Another flat section leads to Twizel Bridge and Journey's end, on river right just after the bridge. However for the more play orientated amongst us may want to drop just a little down stream to the small weir which has some great spots for spins, tailies, blunts and more. The car park is back up the river right path towards the road.
OTHER NOTES: There have been some arguments with the owner of the house at the vertical weir in the past, best option is to simply pass straight through the section and create as little noise as possible.
This is a good river for open boaters as well, portage of the vertical weir is on river right. For a full day trip in open boats continue on to Norham following the Tweed.
CONTRIBUTED BY: Neil Wilson, also Andrew B.
