Cardiff Ely and Taff navigation

[ash12]

I was just wondering how far I could go up the Taff and Ely in a 3metre tender. Ive seen that the waterbus goes as far as Cardiff castle so that should be ok, yes? The Ely I am less sure about, so any info would be appreciated.

 

[chrishelen]

Hi.
I have gone upto the old Leckwith bridge on my rubber tender,I was told that there are lots of dumped bikes and stuff under the bridge, so chickend out going under,i think you can go beyond but it gets very shallow in places,its very pretty and worth the trip.

 

[wakeup]

Hi.
I have gone upto the old Leckwith bridge on my rubber tender,I was told that there are lots of dumped bikes and stuff under the bridge, so chickend out going under,i think you can go beyond but it gets very shallow in places,its very pretty and worth the trip.

Ditto, I have been up as far as Leckwith bridge in a 2.85m tender and it is worth it trolling along slowly. Plenty of kingfishers etc.

With regard to the taff, I have been up to just beyond the castle in my mobo, beware there is a ledge about 100yards beyond the coopers field water bus landing point. Just as well my outdrive kicked up and saved my props. I did come to a rather sudden halt, got the guests to move to the front of the boat and she floated off no problems. I told em that is was all part of the plan. Note to self, don't go beyond the coopers field in a big boat!

I have been up beyond this point in a tender almost to Sophia gardens but it is very shallow. What surprised me when going up the Taff this far was how clear the water was and how natural and pebbly the river bed looks. You could believe that salmon are running again on this river, not something you would expect when you see the colour of the bay water. Enjoy.

 

[single]

We did recky in kayaks (ely) then took speedboat way beyond leckwith bridge.On map we were nearly at ely bridge.Great scenery and even terapins in the creek on a sherp bend).A few nice spots for a bbq or picnic in the woods but bits are industrial so no idea whats under water! Also loads of herons,swans and kingfishers.

Taffs a bit boring but speedboat again and depth is dodgy from castle up.

 

[ash12]

Brilliant info, just what I wanted. See I'm always very wary of what lies beneath and thats why I wanted to find out. Also on entering the Taff there are some structures just past the big overpass bridge, theyre like scaffold landing stages and I didn't know which side of them to go on so I bottled it, wuss.
Cheers for the info

 

[Oceanis]

Ditto, I have been up as far as Leckwith bridge in a 2.85m tender and it is worth it trolling along slowly. Plenty of kingfishers etc.

With regard to the taff, I have been up to just beyond the castle in my mobo, beware there is a ledge about 100yards beyond the coopers field water bus landing point. Just as well my outdrive kicked up and saved my props. I did come to a rather sudden halt, got the guests to move to the front of the boat and she floated off no problems. I told em that is was all part of the plan. Note to self, don't go beyond the coopers field in a big boat!

I have been up beyond this point in a tender almost to Sapphire gardens but it is very shallow. What surprised me when going up the Taff this far was how clear the water was and how natural and pebbly the river bed looks. You could believe that salmon and running again on this river, not something you would expect when you see the colour of the bay water. Enjoy.

Minor detail but it's Sophia Gardens.

 

[chrishelen]

Brilliant info, just what I wanted. See I'm always very wary of what lies beneath and thats why I wanted to find out. Also on entering the Taff there are some structures just past the big overpass bridge, theyre like scaffold landing stages and I didn't know which side of them to go on so I bottled it, wuss.
Cheers for the info

I dont know what they are either, but if you keep them on your starboard side going up stream towards town you will be ok.

In fact there should be a bouyed channel going up the river. on the left as you go up just before channel view is the old sand warf,where quite large coasters used to berth,so plenty of water on that side.

Give it a go its good fun.

 

[ash12]

Brill I'm gonna give it a go at the weekend I think

 

[NicM]

Another quick point. The salmon are running really well on the Taff and I can recommend visiting the weir at Radyr, in season, to watch them jumping.

 

[ash12]

Another quick point. The salmon are running really well on the Taff and I can recommend visiting the weir at Radyr, in season, to watch them jumping.

Thanks for the heads up, ill look into it, thanks

 

[Frobscottle]

Those scaffold structures on the Taff are an observation tower and two floating filtration systems for dealing with any blue green algae in the bay, just keep them to SB as you go up. I navigate both rivers on a regular basis and can say the Taff is the better river for those shy of what lies beneath. The HA had it dredged last year and the depth is good until you come towards the Castle bridge where I recommend keeping to the Millennium Stadium side of the river. You often see ducks standing up as and example of how shallow it is. The weir that exists is about 30ft beyond the water taxi berth, when the brush dies away you can see the yellow line on the river bank to indicate its position.

The Ely is very much a wild and natural river with a tonne of wildlife. It has a lot more deris floating about as it has a slow flow rate. There are picnic benches on the bank for a packed lunch or BBQ. It isn't dredged so sediment build up has gathered at the elbows of the river. Keep to the outside of the bend and you will have plenty of water. I have gone as far as the Leckwith bridge but not beyond as I can't squeeze past the pillar supporting it.

 

[single]

if you want to explore further buy my hovercraft OR put it back together and have use of it.