Shepperton Weir. More than just a playspot?

Over the past couple of weekends I have been reunited with the beautiful beast that is Shepperton weir running at a good level. When this weir is running at an optimal level, it is fantastic fun for playing around in.

Now there are plenty of descriptions of this weir and its legendary status as a playspot on websites such as the UK Rivers Guidebook and Thames Valley Freestylers, I want to look at a different aspect of this weir that perhaps some people may overlook. The fact that the mess of water that follows the main wave may be one of the best places to practice core skills without you actually realising that you are doing it.

Before I continue I must mention that if you have never visited this weir before, especially in high levels to consult either of the above mentioned websites or preferably someone who knows the area. This is not a weir for beginners. There are a series of major hazards that can be present at various levels so this weir must be approached with caution at all times.

Now first off, you can’t ignore the fact that the wave produced here between 6-10 gates at the right pool level is amazing. But the trade-off for this is some uniquely messy water that immediately follows the wave. Now most people would think that this was a bad thing. Extra work to get back to the top, going over, having a tough time of rolling back up again and so on. However I don’t see this as the case, and neither do many of the people that I regularly paddle it with.

Once you get used to the unpredictable nature of the water and don’t mind the occasional spontaneous trashing, its actually really fun! You can never just ease off your once your off the wave, comfortable in the knowledge of what is to come. 

One minute there may be a clean route, the next minute there’s a surge of water downstream at the same time as a boil rising and out of nowhere a hole or whirlpool will appear and try to swallow you and your boat whole. There have been a number of occasions that I have seen entire boats and paddler completely disappear in this way, and its actually hilarious!

Once you are in the main flow of the weir there are actually very few hazards other than the usual risks of weir paddling (no pining rocks, siphons, super retentive holes etc.). This means that providing you and the people that you are with know what they are doing, the worst case scenario here should only be a swim at most. With this in mind you can afford to be a little more relaxed about the whole experience, be it weathering the beating or laughing from the bank.

But this weir also offers other benefits to this.  There are not many other play spots that can offer this level of unpredictability, forcing you to constantly think on the spot no matter how many times you run it. Instinctive reactions are honed through this process as the constantly changing water gives you little time to plan ahead. Boat positioning, paddle strokes, body movement all become second nature the more you run down from the wave at the front along what is quite technically challenging water.

Even when you do end up going over the flow of the water allows you to practice having to roll up in alternative ways other than you strong side and what it feels like to be upside down in the middle of a whirlpool or boil, and in some cases how you can even use these situations to your benefit. 

Again, the more you end up running this feature, the more all of this becomes second nature and the less you have to think about what you are doing. These valuable skills can then be transferred into a number of different situations in all aspects of whitewater kayaking.

Providing that you already have good paddling technique, paddling at Shepperton will ingrain these strokes and movements into your head, making them second nature to you very quickly. And the best thing about it is that it is all a lot of fun! The constantly changing water and the fun of the front wave means that you’ll not even really notice the hard work that you are putting in on these other aspects of your kayaking.

This isn’t to say that you only have to paddle Shepperton to become amazing paddler. There is plenty that cannot be practiced here but it does offer a real core workout which will be of great benefit for whatever you go onto next.