Hurley Weir

Places : Europe : England : Hurley Weir

Hurley Weir, England's kayaking heaven. Found 25 miles West of Central London on the River Thames.

Hurley Weir consists of 4 gates and depending on the water levels and the number of gates open at one time depends on the size of the wave(s).

Hurley Weir has had a long history and is still as popular as it was a long time ago. Such events as Hurley Classic, a yearly event, and the Eurocup was held there a few years back. The weir is very accessible, from the car park its a simple 2 minute walk to the water where you need to paddle down the steps. Here is a basic guide of the gates.

Order of gates:- 4 3 2 1

1 Gate With one gate open a small wave is produced, at this level Hurley isnt very popular as the wave is fairly flushy and moves are generally harder to achieve. However at this level it is ideal for beginners to get used to surfing the wave and getting a feel for moving water.

2 Gates 2 gates produces two nice waves which can be surfed and moves can be pulled off with ease. 2 gates produce a bigger wave than 1 and is generally very popular for paddlers. Such moves that can be pulled of are blunts, loops, flatspins, helix and backstabs.

3 Gates This is the optimum level, gate 4 is closed (look above) and gates 3 2 and 1 are opened. Gates 3 and 1 make waves that you would expect on two gates but gate 2 produces a perfect green wave that can get up to 5 feet high, this level is very very popular and doesnt occur very often so paddlers flock from all over to get on the wave.

4 Gates All four gates are now open and a cartwheel friendly feature. 4 gates is usually for the more advanced paddlers and not recommended for beginners or the light-hearted. The feature becomes more of a hole which makes cartwheeling easier. 4Gates+ is very rare, when the water levels are very very high and cause all 4 gates to produce a hole.

If starting kayaking then this is definately a weir to look at, also Boulters in the Summer is a very popular Thames weir.

[edit] External Links

There are numerous sites dedicated to the freestyle weirs, these are some of the more popular:

Kayakojacko.com has up to date Hurley level information (number of gates open) Note: This site replaces thamesweirproject.co.uk

Unsponsored - Freestyle, river-running and creeking chat. Also skills and reviews

CanoeCafe - Looking at events, and articles.