We can’t all have Garb on our doorstep, or world class surfing conditions, or even a venue like HPP. Most of us, if we don’t want to travel long distances, have to make the most of what we have locally, and that’s usually a small wave or hole somewhere.
I have to admit, I’m tired of long car journeys to get my kayaking fix. It’s expensive on fuel, and sometimes it ends up being four to five hours driving for a couple of hours paddling. The travelling is yet another reason Em and I used to spend more time doing park & play rather than river running. There’s no shuttle faff or any need to be up at 5am to arrive at a river that may or may not be running, with zero energy due to lack of a decent breakfast (I find it impossible to eat first thing in the morning). I despise super early mornings to go kayaking. I despise them even more when I’m greeted by people who are super enthusiastic to get on the water when all I want is a decent cup of tea and to take my time having some damn food to wake me up! The river ain’t going anywhere! Grumpy? Me? Nah! 🤣
This past autumn and winter I spent a lot of time going to the bottom wave on the Dee at the Mile End Mill site. It was consistently big, and although I was pretty hopeless on it, it was worth the journey. But, outside of the Dee rising again, I have a new favourite feature to keep me going over the drier summer months, and it’s at Jackfield.
Jackfield wave? Are you nuts?!
Jackfield isn’t exactly famous for its great play features. Once upon a time, before the banks were reinforced, there was apparently a great wave/hole at the bottom. But that all disappeared once the bank work was done. The wave I’m going to talk about today has always been an awkward one, and its existence was a pure mistake. When the river bank reinforcement work was being done, all of the rocks that were used came from the riverbed. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, one of the digger drivers got a bit over enthusiastic and accidentally gouged out a portion of the bed, thus laying the foundation for the wave. However, while it used to be much more limited in what could be done on it due to it being angled in a strange way, something changed during the last winter flooding that has straightened it up and made it much more consistent at a wider variety of levels.
The Jackfield wave, considering that it’s situated in the middle of a grade 2 rapid, is surprisingly feisty for a small feature. Even at its lowest levels if you’re sat in the trough it’s shoulder high at the foam pile. Structure wise, the wave has a defined green shoulder on the left and right, and then a surging foam pile in the middle. As the river level rises, the foam pile remains, but becomes slightly wider and forms at the top of an ever so slightly greener wave. At all levels it’s not an easy wave, but that’s what I like about it. You really do have to keep moving around on it, and it can be a challenge to stay within the sweet spot between being nose endered or flushing off.
This is a great dynamic. Some people like their features to be easy so that they can just sit in a calm surf. But doing that doesn’t teach you anything. I do think that with the awkwardness of the wave at Jackfield, if you can precisely position yourself on it, it’ll set you up very well for dealing with any feature.
Even when the river is low, the wave has around 10-11 cumecs flying through it. At prime levels it has around 15-20 cumecs, so it’s pretty fast compared to many other summer level natural waves in the UK. I’m still currently finding my way around it, and I can’t currently do a whole lot, but I have been watching people who can, and it has a lot more potential than anyone has ever afforded it.
One of our local paddlers, Simon Wiles, has been consistently throwing roundhouses, with some of his more recent ones pretty much reaching the angle of a blunt. Recently he was 80% of the way to achieving a retained loop. Smooth flat spins in both directions are possible, as are pop outs. It’s here that things get more interesting. However, I can also say that when we had Lowri Davies down recently for a session with the club, she was throwing roundhouses on both sides, back stabs, spins, and I’m pretty sure I spotted a split wheel in there too. There is definite cartwheel potential depending on the level.
So, let’s talk more advanced moves. Lowri attempted a roundhouse into a McNasty, and it very nearly came off. She said that even if the loop portion isn’t possible, the feature will make for a good place to practice the McNasty setup. I’m fairly convinced that at around 15-cumecs a full McNasty combo will be possible, and I also think a decent isolated loop is also a realistic possibility. Though I think it might need to be performed like a shallow hole loop in order to retain.
Pulling these moves off won’t be easy, because precise positioning is needed on a feature that doesn’t have much forgiveness due to its speed and surging nature. But, the result is that although the learning curve is steep, you’ll be prepared for lots of other features.
Seeing Lowri and Simon on the Jackfield wave was eye opening. A feature that at one time was seen as a bit of a joke, and only just capable of supporting a basic front surf and the odd pop out has transformed into one that has a lot more possibilities. Is it world class? Hell no! It’s surgy, it has a steep trough, and it lets you know immediately when you aren’t in control. I once named the feature “Harsh, but Fair”, and I’m disappointed it hasn’t stuck! But, when you get something right, it’s really rewarding and it teaches you a lot, hence my name for it. It’s for these reasons that I’ve been spending more time there recently, rather than travelling up to Llangollen or Tryweryn.
These days, I’m quite happy to spend a chilled low stress day hanging around a small feature like Jackfield. Sure, I could go to the Tryweryn in the summer and do the same eddies and the same moves. But, a lot of the moves and eddy catching techniques made there are quite specific to that section of river. So, although it would be easy to poo-poo a small feature like the Jackfield wave, trying to move around it and get the right positioning and feel to pull something off is a real challenge due to its unpredictable nature and I feel I’m learning much more by spending time on it. I guess I’m just easily entertained!
The Kayaking Journal 
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