The National White Water Centre

The National White Water Centre

While The National White Water Centre may be a little ‘inland’ for this website (being about twenty-five miles east of Porthmadog), it’s a great place to visit if you’re into your watersports. It’s located about four miles north of the town of Bala, a popular town on the eastern edge of the Snowdonia National Park. Bala is home to the largest natural lake in Wales (Llyn Tegid) with its popular sailing club, as well as The Bala Lake Railway (Rheilffordd Llyn Tegid) which runs along the southern shore of the lake.

Give It A Try!

While being famous for its training centre for kayakers, most of the tourists and visitors come for the various fun-filled paddle sports and rafting experiences, which are suitable for all ages.

Why not go and try a modest one-hour taster session, or if you’re feeling a little more confident, an adrenaline-filled two-hour one which shoots you down a section of the Upper Tryweryn river with its various rapids and challenging obstacles. Both of these sessions are suitable for ages twelve and over.

If you have young children, then there are family sessions which run four-miles along the lower part of the river, although this is still great fun with its rapids and obstacles. The youngest age they can offer activities for is ten years old (for their Rafting Safari session). If you have a little experience (and are sixteen or over), there is also a two-person raft experience.

Adventure Packages

The centre also offers weekend adventure packages, including four-wheeler ATVs and off-roading, zip-lines, canyoning, clay-pigeon shooting and accommodation. See the website for more details.

Note that wetsuits must be worn when you’re on the river, but can be rented for a modest fee.

RAFTING OPENING TIMES

The centre is open for rafting any day they have a water release (which is roughly two-hundred days per year). This is mainly between March and October.

Normal Rafting Times Are:
Saturday / Sunday: 09:00 am – 6:00 pm.
Monday to Friday: 09:00 am – 4:00 pm.