Source to Sea – an underwater ‘travelogue’ of the River ‘Conwy’
From Llyn Conwy – Merddw confluence – Lledr confluence – Llanrwst - Conwy Estuary
Prompted by a generally expressed interest in extending our club diving possibilities in winter, and even during periods of bad weather at sea in the summer, at our last club committee meeting in November, Tristan Hatton-Ellis, Fresh Water Officer for CCW, spoke with enthusiasm about how we might informally collaborate with CCW regarding producing some interesting and, hopefully, artistic and inspiring photographs of various fresh water sites in Anglesey and Gwynedd. He talked about green fresh water sponges in Llyn Idwal, for instance, and many other unique aspects of our beautiful rivers and lakes, inspiring us with enthusiasm to go forward.
So, this Sunday evening, a group of us met in the Panton Arms at Pentraeth to chat about the possibilities of fresh water diving. With us was Nigel Milner, Fisheries Scientist, a once-member of the club, and a member of the Conwy and Clwyd Rivers Trust.
To begin with we were considering both lakes and rivers, and Snowdonia National Parks have given us permission in principle to dive Llyn Tegid (Bala).
However, after last night’s meeting we came away with the beginnings of an exciting project, that to our knowledge has never been done before in the UK (I stand to be corrected here…) – which is to dive the length of the River Conwy, and produce an underwater ‘travelogue’, consisting of written records, slides and videos of the various environments encountered – riffles, pools, gorges, waterfalls, tidal reaches etc., ranging from a couple of meters only to 10 meters deep, and the aquatic life, both plant and animal, that we hope flourishes in them. Not dissimilar to Seasearch in that aspect. On the way we’ll be learning about invasive species that are threatening native ones, how not to cross contaminate, and how to dive against the flow in fairly fast moving water at times. We will obviously use our well- won judgement from diving in the sea, and keep well clear of those places which look too dangerous.
We are now in the throes of researching everything we need to know about river diving and pulling in the experience of BSAC HQ, in the person of Jim Watson, Safety and Development Manager; old and new members of the club; and environmentalists from all corners of the two counties, this to produce an overall plan/presentation, templates for risk assessments, set up a programme of safety and skill training sessions, walk the banks, talk to angling associations and landowners, get permissions to dive, and generally get to know Afon Conwy.
We will hopefully come away with a wealth of new skills and experiences, and material which will serve to raise awareness both of ourselves and the general public about the largely unseen life in our rivers, the threats to that life from pollution and hazards from tipping, and how important all water is to life’s continuing existence.
Please get in touch with one of the following club members (telephone/emails available from list of club members previously updated and distributed by Helen) if you’re interested in taking part in this project, which we hope to get underway in the spring. Besides divers of varying adventurousness, we will need shore - I mean ‘bank’ – support crew, so there’s a role for everyone.
Thanks
Liz Healey
Kathryn Birch
Mike McCann
Nina Hamilton
Carol Horne
