Canoeing on the Teifi at Cenarth

Shooting rapids puts paid to one canoe!

White water canoeing on the River Teifi at Cenarth, Carmarthenshire, is no picnic: one canoeist is deftly rescued when she becomes separated from her craft; another is thrown a life belt when he drops some feet into a pool. His canoe, however, is beyond all help.

Shot by Steven Pugh-Jones, a policeman-turned-teacher who ran the summer camp at Cae Ty’n Gronw, Pwllpriddog, Rhandirmwyn, for the Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire councils, welcoming 80 children a week through the gates. He also took groups canoeing from Coleg Y Drindod (now University of Wales Trinity Saint David) and is the man wearing a purple waterproof whose canoe is a write off! Cenarth is a village on the Teifi, bordering Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire and it boasts a dramatic series of waterfalls and a salmon leap. Coracles can still be seen in use on this river (see the title ‘Coracle Men of the Teifi’).