The early part of the week has seen a huge amount of rain in South Wales, and the river levels on both the Sychryd and Mellte have risen as a result, current readings are close to 0.5m. This will mean water flow levels will be stronger than they have been in recent weeks so you will need to be very aware of this and take sensible precautions for any Gorge Walking or Canyoning event.
It also means the chance of flashing is even higher as water levels are already reasonably high. Ensure you are aware of rainfall in the Brecon Beacons in the 12 - 18 hours before you event.
All that being said, with the current levels in the rivers and land the flow should be fairly consistent and the waterfalls will be constant throughout the South Wales region. This means you should have some fun, but challenging conditions for both Gorge Walking and Canyoning, just make sure you respect the power of the water and take required precautions and stay informed of local weather conditions. Make sure you are with somebody who is experienced and has a good knowledge of the Gorges you are on.
Bit of a mixed bag for Coasteering this weekend. Saturday is just an absolute no, we've got 6ft swell, 30mph WSW winds and generally just unsafe conditions across the whole of the South Wales region.
We may see acceptable conditions for Sunday, swell possibly dropping to around 3ft and winds dying right down too. This could mean some of the more protected, easterly facing beaches, such as Caswell Bay in Swansea, are accessible. Make sure you are aware of the conditions however as Saturdays conditions could easily carry over into Sunday, meaning all locations are off.
Your best bet for this weekend is most likely going to be heading inland to somewhere like Dinas Rock in the Brecon Beacons and joining us for some Gorge Walking or Canyoning.
The swell should be decent this weekend, particularly on Saturday. However we've got some pretty strong onshore winds which will affect the swell and make conditions challenging. The more experienced surfers may be able to find some good surfing on some of the more easterly facing bays, such as Coney Beach in Porthcawl and Oxwich Bay in Swansea.
We'll be back at Dinas Rock in the Brecon Beacons this weekend for some more Gorge Walking and Canyoning seeing our usual mix of stag do's from the Cardiff, Porthcawl and Swansea and the girls on Hen Do's. If conditions allow we'll be off for a bit of Coasteering too as part of some birthday celebrations, otherwise we'll be putting on one of our beach activity days instead.
River levels are fairly high currently after the bout of rain South Wales has seen over the last few days and the ground is saturated too. This means all of the water is flowing straight into the rivers, increasing the flow force and making the possibility of flashing higher. It's vital you only attempt to enter the river with experienced, knowledgeable professionals who know the area and conditions. The South Wales coast is presenting some difficult conditions this weekend too, with strong, onshore winds a particular challenge.
