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Packrafting National Whitewater Centre Slalom near Bala Wales

Some Serious Fun

By Packrafting.cat

January 31^st, 2025

“It is NOT MAGIC, prophecy, alchemy, sorcery, incantations or enchantments, as politicians or rulers claim, their achievements in infrastructure and welfare are OUR TAXES”.

Canolfan Tryweryn - The National White Water Centre

The Welsh National White Water Centre is a clear example of how (just occasionally) our taxes are used to create infrastructure for all sports, because man does not live by football alone!

The River Tryweryn(Afon Tryweryn, afon is Welsh for river) is a VERY SHORT river in North Wales that originates in the Llyn Tryweryn reservoir in the Snowdonia National Park. In just 19 km, it joins the River Dee at Bala.

The Tryweryn was dammed in 1965 to form the Llyn Celyn reservoir. The flooding of the Tryweryn forcibly evicted the inhabitants of the village of Capel Celyn despite popular and political opposition in Wales. The resulting graffiti "Cofiwch Dryweryn" ("Remember Tryweryn") near Llanrhystud became and remains a popular icon of Welsh sentiment.

NOTE: The photo is not the one of the graffiti about the construction of the Tryweryn river reservoir, but I couldn't help but relate the slogan "Remember Tryweryn" to the slogan the Beltonians choose for their nationalist claims in the sci-fi series "The Expanse".

Packrafting National Whitewater Centre Slalom near Bala Wales

River Tryweryn

The Afon Tryweryn is divided into two sections:

The upper river which is described in this article, and
The lower river (see next section)

The upper river has about 2 km of grade 3-4 rapids and runs alongside the centre. The lower section starts just below the centre, at the stairs leading out of the ponds, and continues with grade 2-3 rapids for 6km to the Bala car park. There is a grade 4 rapid near the end of this section that can easily be negotiated using the dam; ask at reception for information if you want to use it and are unsure of its location.

The people at the National Whitewater Centre do their best to ensure that the Upper and Lower Tryweryn are free of obstructions, however, this is a natural environment so it is always important to be aware of any hazards and inform the centre if you spot any new obstructions.

Lower Trywerin

The National Whitewater Centre section, also called Upper Tryweryn, is divided into the following parts:

Warm-up: as the name itself says, this initial area is perfect for warming up before getting to the "serious fun":
Grave Yard: with this appetising name we enter one of the most technical areas of the national whitewater centre, the Grave Yard.
International Course: This area is set up to host whitewater events, with facilities such as various paths to access the different sections, bleachers, accommodation for kayakers, a riverfront bar and the main building of the national centre.
Chapel Falls: Chapel Falls is a drop of about five feet with a plug on the right side of the river that can be quite retentive.

Screenshot from video: Video River Guide | The Tryweryn | National White Water Centre | Canolfan Dŵr Gwyn Genedlaethol

This is approx. 2km of grade 3-4 running around the National White Water Centre facilities.

Warmup

Initial section, there is a car park where the bus service drops you off or you can drive your car directly up here. You have different entry points and the Warmup section is about 200-300m of grade 2 with some good waves to surf and warm up.

Surfing on the initial wave in the Warm-up zone

Grave Yard.

The next section is a meander of the river Tryweryn, about 400-500 metres before reaching the area of the first big building where the International Course slalom is located. This is a class III section.

International Course

500-600 metres of class III-IV, with some passes with a high volume of water (I think they call it Sky Slope) and a steep slope that can become a class IV. You have to take into account that as it is a section of river prepared for whitewater, it is full of cons where you can practice whitewater techniques such as Eddy In and Eddy out, ferries, slalons, eses, surfing... A water park for Kayakers!

Sky Slope. Clase III-IV

The most spectacular pass, where the river narrows the most, is at the end of the International Course as you approach the bar, and is an ideal place to take adrenaline shots and photos!

View from the bridge of the intermediate zone.

The wave of the Coffe/bar

Right in front of the terrace of the café there is a wave where you can watch the surfers playing with the wave while you have a few beers.

Chapel Falls

Once past the bar area, we enter Chapel Falls, the last few metres to the campsite. The clearest point of this section is the NRA/Scaffold Bridge.

This area is also often the starting point of the Lower Tryweryn section.

In the picture on the left you can see the bus stop and the truck/bus that transports the kayaks and kayakers upstream so that you can repeat this stretch of river as many times as you want.

A very useful service for the poor Kayakers, but not so necessary for the Packrafters 😉, to whom I recommend that the first time they walk up with their Packraft and take the opportunity to do a scouting of the river they are about to go down.

In the photo you can see a Kokopelli Recon, I didn't get to see it going down the river! That would have been nice.

Opposite the bus stop there is also a Kayak equipment shop, and at the national white water centre there is a restaurant, toilets, information and you can hire rafting and other services (see website).

All sections of the river can be visited beforehand and it is worthwhile to walk along the prepared paths along the river, with bridges and footbridges as well as other facilities such as bleachers that make this centre an ideal place for whitewater activities such as meetings.

Maps with information about the trails are available at the national centre.

Consult:

IMPORTANT: Before visiting the centre, check whether water is released or not! Water is not released every day.

The usual and ideal flow is 9 cumecs, and it is regulated by the release of water from the dam. Sometimes less water is released, but I believe that with less than 9 cumecs the upper stretch is not allowed to be lowered. There are days when the flow is adequate, but the course is not open because it is reserved for private activities.

Other names of steps that you can see in the River Guide video:

El Everest
Sky Slope
La Ola del Cafe, aka Dog Leg

https://www.nationalwhitewatercentre.co.uk/videos

Website of the National Whitewater Centre:

https://www.nationalwhitewatercentre.co.uk

Where you will find the following river guide: The Afon Tryweryn is divided into two sections: the upper river and the lower river. The upper river has about 2 km of grade 3-4 rapids and runs alongside the centre.

NATURAL HAZARDS AND INVASIVE SPECIES

We do our best to ensure that the Upper and Lower Tryweryn are free from obstructions, however, this is a natural environment, so please be aware of any hazards and inform the centre if you spot any new obstructions.

See NonNativeSpecies.org for more information on invasive alien species and how you can help the National Whitewater Centre and North Wales Wildlife Trust prevent the spread of invasive species. There is a kayak washing station in front of the central building.

Campo Slalom Canoe Wales - National Whitewater center - Cymru

My Google Map

Packrafting in Wales | Langollen | River Dee | Bala

Whitewater guide

According to the Whitewater guide mobile app, it is a 5-star rated section with a difficulty of class III (although I personally consider some of the steps to be class IV). It is approximately 1.5 km (starting at the main building) or 2 km after the Chapel Falls section.

Llangollen

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Aqüeducte de Pontcysyllte

Photo by TNR Outdoors, you can book a guided canoe trip on the Aqueduct with them.

Snowdonia National Park

Eryri National Park, or(Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri in Welsh), (formerly Snowdonia In English) was established in 1951 as the third national park in England and Wales.Welsh), (formerly Snowdonia in English) was established in 1951 as the third national park in England and Wales. It covers an area of 2142 km² (840 mi²) of the Eryri (Snowdonia) region of north-west Wales. It is home to the highest mountain in England and Wales, and the largest lake in Wales.

The English name for the park derives from Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of 1085 m. In Wales, the park is called Eryri.

Y Bala

The village has its charm and especially the picnic and caravan area in front of the lake is a place where it is worth spending some time and why not, paddling on the lake.

Brewery / Cerveseria

We went for a few beers just after going down the Tryweryn, the STORI Beer and Wine Cyf.

¡See you in the river!

The river is a living environment, changing and subject to permanent development. The publishers of the river sketches and the creators of this website cannot be held liable in any case of inaccuracy, omission or error in the river sketches. The topos editors and website creators disclaim all liability in case of any accident that may occur on the rivers described in this guide.