CONTENTS
- Date, Distance & Duration
- Map of the Route
- River Levels Tide & Weather
- Nantgaredig to Carmarthen kayak
- Logistics
- Pubs & Restaurants
- Dangers & Issues
- Kayak used
- Paddling the Towy River
- Summary
1. DATE, DISTANCE & DURATION
27 October 2024.
8 miles route.
3 hours paddling. 30 minutes lunch break.
2. MAP OF THE ROUTE
3. RIVER LEVELS, TIDE & WEATHER
The gauging stations relevant to this route are the ones at Ty Castle and Capel Dewi.
The water levels at these 2 gauging stations was about 1.1 meters on the day of our paddle, well within the usual or green section of the range for these locations.
4. NANTGAREDIG TO CARMARTHEN KAYAK
We launched from under the bridge at Nantgaredig at 12 noon and paddled downstream through the stunning scenery as the river meandered through the Towy Valley.
There is a small weir a couple of hundred metres downstream from the bridge so we kept towards the middle of the river so there was sufficient depth to the water to clear the weir without snagging the skeg of our kayak on it.
The Towy is one of the nicest valleys in Wales in my opinion, being broad but flanked with wooded hills.
We have found it that it is quite rare to actually see anybody when paddling the river other than the odd angler that we’ve passed during the fishing season.
We were over a quarter of the way along the 8 miles route and we’re already discussing when we were going to stop for lunch. I guess sky again must be hungry work!
We had a lunch and beer stop just over half way along the 8 miles route on a small beach on the side of the river.
It was nice to stretch our legs after being sat in the kayak for quite a while, it surprising how much you can stiffen up, especially when you get to my age.
We set off again downstream avoiding a large tree which had fallen into the river.
Getting tangled up in its branches would not have been good and we’d have probably ended up in the icy waters of the Towy.
We decided to turn off into the Gwili river to see how far we could paddle up there against the current.
We only got about 200 meters up the Gwili River before the downstream current made further progress impossible! We paddled back onto the Towy and carried on downstream towards Carmarthen.
The Autumn sun was low in the sky making it difficult at times to properly see what was coming up ahead of us
We could feel the temperature slowly dropping as the afternoon wore on but the effort of paddding combined with having multiple layers of clothing on kept us reasonably warm.
We paddled onto the tidal section of the Towy as we approached Carmarthen which is reputed to be the oldest town in Wales. The area of the town off to the right of the picture is where the Romans established a fort called Moridunum in about 75AD, subsequently replacing it with a town in the second century AD.
Carmarthen has one of only seven surviving Roman Amphitheatres in Britain.
An early twelfth century Anglo-Norman town developed at Carmarthen centred around the castle.
Throughout the medieval period Carmarthen was the largest and most important town and port in Wales. Franciscan priory was established at Carmarthen, being one of the largest in provincial Britain.
The remains of Carmarthen castle loomed over the Quay as we neared the end of our Towy River paddle
It was high tide at Carmarthen at 15:00 on the day of our trip which worked out well since the water level would be quite high to get out at the Quay.
We landed at Carmarthen at 15:30. What a great day’s paddling on the Towy, one of my favourite rivers to paddle!
5. LOGISTICS
Regarding logistics, we had left a car parked up in a quite long layby which is just on the west side of the bridge at Nantgaredig.
If there is no room in the layby then you could drop stuff off by the bridge and then you could park up in Nantgaredig village which is just a few hundred metres up the road.
Across the road from the layby, there is a gate to a public footpath which drops down by the side of the river just below the bridge and you can launch from there.
We left another vehicle at the end of the route in Carmarthen parked up at the Quay which is the road which runs alongside the west bank of the river.
On Sundays, there was no limit to the parking on the Quay but all other days of the week, you are limited to 4 hours parking there.
The alternative landing location is that the pontoon and slipway a bit further downstream at the Carmarthen Quay centre. If landing there, consider making a donation to Carmarthen Boat Club to assist them with the costs of maintaining the slipway and pontoon.
6. PUBS & RESTAURANTS
Yr Hen Dderwen, Carmarthen
At Carmarthen, we had a post kayak beer and some food at Yr Hen Dderwen a great Wetherspoons pub named after Carmarthen’s most famous landmark (the Priory Oak), which stood in Priory Street for more than 300 years.
The Railway Hotel, Nantgaredig
The Railway Hotel at Nantgaredig is a great village pub that serves a good choice of drinks and has a great menu of home cooked food served daily.
7. DANGERS & ISSUES
Right of navigation on the Towy River
We should point out that there is no formal right of public navigation on the non tidal sections of the Towy River.
The position in England and Wales is slightly unclear as to whether you can paddle such rivers but they are commonly kayaked all over the country.
Paddle UK’s website states that they believe that there is a strong case to demonstrate an existing right of navigation on all navigable rivers.
We tend to kayak such sections of rivers outside of the fishing season to avoid any potential conflict with anglers or others.
The fishing for sea trout season on the Towy river is 1 April to 17 October.
We did not have any issues paddling any of the sections of the Towy although we did most of the paddles outside of the fishing season.
Even on those trips we did in the fishing season, we saw very few anglers and it seems that the stock of fish in this once renowned fishing river have sadly declined significantly.
Water Levels
As with any river, you should check the river levels at the gauging stations on the Towy before you plan a paddle on it to make sure that the water level is safely within the usual range
You can check these on the RiverLevelsUk website.
The gauging stations relevant to this route are the ones at Ty Castle and Capel Dewi.
Rapids and obstacles in the river
As it usually the case with the Towy river, it meanders a lot and while most of it is quite deep and steadily flowing, especially in the Autumn and Winter, you are in intermittently subject to shallower and faster flow in sections. On the lower sections of the Towy, they are at Grade 1 or at the most Grade 2 rapids.
On these shallow sections, you can often get fallen down trees stuck in the river which can potentially present a danger due to them creating strainers.
We took evasive action a few times to avoid fallen trees in the river, you always have to keep your eyes peeled for them when river kayaking, especially when the water is flowing quite fast.
Tide Times
Since this route ends on the tidal section of the Towy River, it’s advisable to try and time it so you land at Carmarthen near to high tide. This will make it much easier to land at there, although you probably can land at the pontoon at the Carmarthen Quay centre even when the tide is low.
8. KAYAK USED
Ethan used a Sandbanks Style Optimal tandem inflatable kayak
This is a full drop stitch inflatable kayak which inflates up to 12psi so that the hull and decks are very firm.
As a result, you get performance which is similar to a hard shell kayak
I have done a review of the Sandbanks Style Optimal kayak on the Kayak Reviews page of the Product Reviews category of my website. I have also done a video review of it on the Product Reviews Playlist of my Youtube channel.
9. PADDLING THE TOWY RIVER
The River Towy (in Welsh called the Welsh Afon Tywi (‘Tewee’) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales.
Its total length is 120 km (75 miles).
if flows from its source in the Cambrian Mountains through the towns of Llandovery, Llandeilo and Carmarthen and then down to the estuary where it is flanked by the villages of Ferryside and Llansteffan.
The upper reaches of the river are popular with Whitewater kayakers.
We only generally do flat water cruising so we have only paddled the lower reaches from Llandovery down to the mouth. That spans almost 50 miles of the river so offers lots of day trip options for paddlers.
The Towy is tidal for about 11 miles from the mouth of the estuary up as far as a mile or so above Carmarthen.
10. SUMMARY
We really enjoyed this 8 miles paddle from Nantgaredig to Carmarthen.
I can honestly say that the Towy is one of the nicest valleys that I have paddle through.
The lower Towy river is predominantly flatwater cruising subject to the caveat that you do have to keep your wits about you and watch out for obstacles or faster shallow sections than on more than on rivers like the lower Severn or Avon which are more ‘canalised’.
Paddling into the historic town of Carmarthen is the icing on the cake and I can highly recommend this route.