Liverpool University Canoe Club

The Burrs” is a riverside country park on the river Irwell at Bury, north of Manchester. It takes about 1hr to get there in the minibus.

The section above this, from Rawtenstall park, is sometimes run at other times. It includes a nice “minigorge”. Its only possible if its really rained, and preferably still raining, and after a good heavy summer storm makes for good continuous grade III+. Se ukriversguidebook guide for more details.

Fresher trip Any freshers reading this, you may want to glance at the “what to bring on trips” section of the website. Basically, you going to need stuff to wear, a drink, and some sandwiches or money to buy sandwiches from the cafe.

Here’s some explanation of what the river is like. The people running the trip will also explain everything to you, so you just need to remember the basics: listen out for things people will tell you, and, as always, don’t paddle off on your own, *do* stick with the group.

First we’ll go to the Burrs car park, and get changed into canoe gear. Then we launch in the canal (up steps / slope from the car park). We’ll travel right along the canal, under the bridge, the canal turns left. Carry on for quite a while, lots of trees and pretty countryside. When we pretty much can’t carry on any further and there’s a sound of a weir, you’ll see platform for getting out on the left. We help everyone to get out here, ready to get onto the river instead.

Important note about the weir. After getting out of the canal, you’ll see Burrs weir. It is possible to get in to the river below or above the weir. The character of the weir is vastly different at high and low water levels! So the organisers will base what to do next on how much water there is.

At low water levels (which it usually is) it is possible to get on above the weir and paddle upstream - there is very little flow and upstream there are large flat sections where you could play games etc if that’s what your trip organisers decide. At low water levels, its also quite fun to slide down the (almost dry) river-left side of the weir (the smooth side), if that’s what your trip organisers decide. This is fine for everyone, including beginners. Of course, its optional!

At higher water levels this weir becomes a much more serious proposition, and will not be run by novices. The route at higher water levels is actually river-right, over the fish steps. At these water levels, we will get in *below* the weir (there is an obvious path to the launch spot) in order to carry on our trip.

The section from below the weir back to the car park. This is a straightforward river, with one or two play stops and several places where we can teach the freshers about ferry-gliding, breaking in and breaking out, and good opportunities for them to get a feel for paddling on moving water. Towards the end of the section, you’ll see the aqueduct and road bridge to the car park overhead. Just after this is a good weir which is very popular for playing. You can choose to paddle hard and go straight over it, or stay and play. After the weir, the river curves left in a small rapid, eddy out left after that and collect all the freshers.

The whole section is pretty short, which means……..you can do it again! Hooray!

Cafe on site is sometimes open, and has chips, burgers and other such healthy food. There’s also a pub on site, with a beer garden. That’s it, have fun! Written by Helen