The National White Water Centre

The National White Water Centre, near Bala

While The National White Water Centre may be a little outside of Dolgellau (being about twenty-two miles east), 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 Llyn Tegid, the largest natural lake in Wales, with its popular sailing club. Bala also has The Bala Lake Railway (Rheilffordd Llyn Tegid) which runs along the southern edge of the lake.

Go On… Give It A Go!

While the centre is famous for its training sessions for kayakers, most of the visitors and tourists 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, however, this is still great fun with its various 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 more 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

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

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.