Pesda News

Our submission to the Welsh Assembly Government Sustainability Committee who have invited further submissions from all and sundry at a meeting tomorrow in Cardiff (please post your comments):

We Publish Guidebooks

Pesda Press (Caernarfon) publishes outdoor adventure books. We have published guidebooks to the rivers and lochs of Scotland and England (we have a guidebook underway for Ireland and titles under consideration for Wales). We have guidebooks (published and underway) which cover the entire British coastline, of which Welsh Sea Kayaking is a firm favourite with sea kayakers, small boat keepers and anglers. We are among the first to exploit this growing market and every canoeing title we publish helps to increase participation.

A Friendly Welcome

We want to give a friendly welcome to everyone who holidays in Wales and wants to enjoy the outdoors. We also want people to become custodians of their own environment, to know about and enjoy the remaining wild places. Canoeing, gorge walking and swimming are great ways for everybody to explore the places kept wild by water.

At the present time, people who want to float a boat on or swim in the wild lakes and rivers of Wales may set afloat in peace and tranquillity only to be confronted by someone on the bank shouting at them to leave. Quite often someone who claims to be a bailiff but has no ID may well use blue language to persuade you off the water (see the WCA’s incident log). If you are unaware of your rights – that you may be held responsible for the civil offence of trespass (but that is not clear in law) and may be asked to leave (by the landowner or bailiff) by the shortest route – you may simply give up on the idea of enjoying the lakes and rivers of Wales because you encounter this indignant attitude on so many lakes and rivers.

There is no evidence that canoeing disturbs fish. It is a low impact activity. It’s a healthy pastime which allows people who may be physically unable to walk or climb in the mountains to enjoy the wildlife and wild heritage of Wales. We want to make Wales a friendly place to canoe, kayak, swim, gorge walk and generally enjoy the lakes and rivers, as we have become accustomed to enjoying the hills.

A clear and unequivocal right of access to our hills and mountains was a recent and hard-won victory, but it is one we already take for granted. Public access to the remaining wild spaces, the lakes and rivers of the land faces the same kind of opposition (for the same reasons) as the right walk on open land (CRoW 2000).

Why not rely on Access Agreements?

Access agreements alone do not and will not work to create a friendly environment for watersport recreation on all inland waters in Wales. The history of access agreements is mixed, not all bad, but most are not long lived and not negotiated equitably.

• They rely on the cooperation of a string of riparian owners, every one of which might veto the agreement at any time.
• Unless there is sufficient mass of existing water users, they are often negotiated from a stance of ‘asking’ for access. They may be negotiated on unequal terms or with the perception of superior rights.
• They are subject to change according to the interests of the riparian owners, which may make advertising and signage difficult and costly, hampering development.
• The terms of access vary from place to place in an arbitrary way, making it difficult to publicise water recreation and confusing for visitors outside of Wales and England who do not suffer similarly restricted access at home.
• The terms of access may have arbitrary preconditions (‘only twenty people per day’) which may be confusing to tourists.
• They cover areas in a piecemeal fashion which is hard to predict and manage for tourism.

As a result:

• Tourists need to consult different rules an regulations for every river or lake.
• Local traders cannot rely on information or guaranteed influx of tourists.
• National tourism planning cannot rely on sites being available into the future.

Legislation to make clear that there is a public right to float on the wild rivers and lakes of Wales (modelled on the Scottish Land Reform Act 2003) would reverse the situation. Management plans would need to be made to ensure that the rivers and lakes are cared for and all water users are taken into consideration, but this is not really much more than landowners are already responsible for. There would be no more irate bankside commentators claiming to be bailiffs (the rationale, week though it is, for aggravation would be removed altogether).

Tourists arriving in Wales would be greeted by brown heritage signs pointing toward paddling locations (much like the fishing tourism signs and CRoW open access land signs) which will help to focus activity on car parks and slipways, as well as Forestry Commission signage to lake and riverside parking. At sites of high usage public information boards might give information on lake use zoning (Llyn Geirionydd) or wildlife and surroundings (Llyn Padarn), which may help manage use by informing tourists. It would be much easier to invite tourists to come paddling in Wales and explain the occasional places they cannot paddle (as well as their responsibilities when they do go afloat) rather than try to explain the limited places they can paddle (and the various rules they must abide by at each place).

A simple signage scheme has been in place for many years in the Sessia Valley (Piemonte, Northern Italy) where roadside river system maps are provided at a number of popular access points. This encourages use of these well managed stretches and provides an easy point to educate tourists. Similar signs at occasional lay-bys and parking places in Norway warn fishermen and paddlers about transmission of fish parasites from affected catchments. Simple information which is useful to everyone and is not about to change (the signs will last for many years).

Development of Visit Wales’ Paddlesport Tourism Action Plan will provide more opportunities to educate visitors about the responsibilities of water users and to advertise sites of major usage. Information about the environment can best be kept up to date online, including flora and fauna seasonal sensitivity (redd maps and SSSIs), real time water level information (already available on FishingWales.com) and water quality updates (where that information is collected, e.g. Llyn Padarn’s algal bloom).

Consider the lakes of our National Park.

If the rivers which flow off of the hills and through our towns seem complicated by competing claims, consider the lakes of Snowdonia National Park. Astonishingly only four have free access. Llyn Geirionydd, Llynnau Mymbyr, Llyn Dinas (became free only this year) and Llyn Padarn (also recently became free).

Llyn Tegid is accessible on payment of a fee of £3.50 to a lake warden, there are no apparent signs about this around the lake.

Llyn Vyrnwy (Severn Trent Water) has rights given over to one sole commercial operator (as does Llyn Tegid) – tourists are not allowed to simply turn up and paddle, there is a £4 launch fee payable to the commercial operator and you must phone up periodically to check you can paddle.

Llyn Alwen has no recognised access agreement for paddling but since waterskiers and sailors do have access agreements, paddlers are not contested.

Llyn Trawsfynydd will probably become more open to tourist watersport users as the development of the land around the power station for walking and cycling takes place and more visitors are encouraged.

The remaining larger beautiful mountain lakes are all restricted by local interests despite their location on land managed by the National Parks Authority, Forestry Commission or National Trust, all of which have a remit to encourage outdoor recreation and access to water.

Llyn Gwynant lies on National Trust estate land but the farmer at one end of the lake objects to paddlers on the lake, the farmer at the other end, with a campsite and beach, encourages them. A road runs beside the lake with lay-bys which adjoin the lake.

Llyn Ogwen is on National Trust land (who have an open access policy) but the fishing rights are leased to a local club. For that reason alone, the LEA outdoor centre which neighbours the lake are unable to float their canoes on the water from their boathouse just yards away. It is very rare to see anyone fishing Llyn Ogwen.

Llyn Crafnant is a very picturesque tourist attraction with road access right up to the water’s edge, paddling there is ‘prohibited’ by the leaseholder of the fishing rights.

Llyn Celyn is a fine lake. The Christian Centre there has negotiated sole access but very rarely use the lake. They decline requests from Bala residents for permission to paddle and the lake is unused.

Llyn Brenig (Forestry Commission land) has limited access to water skiers or sailors but no free access. A single Denbighshire centre has permission to use the lake.

You have to wonder why the open access principles of the organisations that control the land differ between lakes, crags, fells and mountain peaks.

Why Make a Right of Access Formal?

Quite honestly, as a river paddler, a formal right of access will make very little difference to me. I am aware of my rights and responsibilities and I am also aware of the local situation for most of the rivers I use regularly. I know how to avoid annoying the individuals who take exception to canoeists, I know where to park sensitively and I know about the flora and fauna of the river (and I’m keen to learn more).

Dedicated, local canoeists are not really the benefactors of open access waterways. Instead it is newcomers, tourists and everyone else who will no longer be discouraged from spending time at the river or lake and money in the town by confrontation, makeshift warning signs and a general lack of information about where to go paddling.

Legislation can change a culture of negativity very quickly, consider how quickly attitudes to walking in the hills has changed though the formation of National Parks and access legislation.

It’s agreed that there is not enough data collected about paddlesport recreation (CCW report due late 2009). The best indication of the growing popularity of canoeing is sales of canoe equipment., in particular sit-on-tops and open canoes (both used for placid water paddling). It is no surprise that we are under pressure from retailers to produce guidebooks for placid water touring in Wales, as the first thing a new customer asks is ‘where can I go paddling?’ We’re working on that one, but it’s not an easy question to answer. Our approach is to tell people just where the lakes and rivers are, what the best stretches are like, what the access situation is, and then leave it up to them to make their own decisions about where and when to paddle.

What We Do Know

Since the Scottish Land Reform Act, Visit Scotland have increased the presence of paddlesport in their marketing and developed inland canoe trails on the Spey, Dee and now the Great Glen. Canoe trails have been a great success for tourism in Ireland.

Out book Scottish White Water (first published just before the Land Reform Act) now sells more copies per month in it’s second edition. However it is our two touring titles to the placid locks and rivers of Scotland (Scottish Canoe Touring and Scottish Canoe Classics) which outsell our whitewater guide three to one.

More information is needed, but it can be safely said that paddlesports are a large and growing sector of all outdoor activity and tourism. Wales is well placed to take advantage of it’s natural heritage and to welcome tourists to our lakes and rivers from across Europe and further afield.

Visit Wales UK Travel Stats 2008 state Canoeing and Kayaking is worth £31.2m per year to the Welsh economy. This includes coastal and inland activity. (Excludes overseas trips and day trips).

Over 2 million participants, taking part in Paddlesports at least once a year (Source BCU).

The WCA have a membership (club and individual) of only just over 50,000.

The RYA have Paddlesport participation as 3 million (Source BMIF).

The BMIF Participation Study 2008 found the watersports market had 3.2 million participants with 970K of these being in Paddlesports - making it the biggest segment of this market which includes fishing (Source BMIF).

The BMIF have approximated that Paddlesport is worth £100 million a year in the UK, Its estimated that this figure is based on around 200 retail outlets (Source BMIF).

20% of the area of enclosed waters in Wales is used for Paddlesports (EAW Strategic Plan for WRR in Wales 08).

Paddlesport: Slow growth predicted (UK Sport disputes this, stating that growth across the UK is high, at 9% pa) (EAW Strategic Plan for WRR in Wales 08).

In Wales there are over 1,300 coaches, 75 canoeing clubs also affiliated centres and other organisations OEC’S etc. (Source CW).

Over 15,000 volunteers running clubs, events, courses and committees (Source BCU).

The Tryweryn National White Water Centre for Wales receives in excess of 100,000 participants per year, generating a secondary spend of £3 million in the local area.

98,000 sea kayak visitors to Wales in 08 - £38 / head / night (Source Anna Ruiz Bangor University 2008).