| Tees Barrage White Water Course | |
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| Upper pool of the Tees Barrage White Water Course (2008) | |
| Other name(s) | Teesside White Water course |
| Locale | Stockton-on-Tees |
| Road access | via A66 in Thornaby-on-Tees |
| Maintained by | British Waterways |
| Managing agent | Tees Active Limited |
| Website | TBWWC |
| Main shape | loop |
| Loops | 1 (and one short loop proposed) |
| Length | 250 metres (820 ft) |
| Width | 7 metres (23 ft) |
| Drop | 2.5 metres (8 ft) |
| Slope | 1:100 (1%) |
| Adjustable | yes |
| Water source | Tees Barrage on the River Tees |
| Pumped | (proposed) |
| Flow diversion | yes |
| Flowrate | 10 cumecs |
| Tidal | yes |
| Water quality | grade A** |
| Practice pool | yes |
| Surf wave | yes |
| Lighting | Flood and spot-lights |
| Canoe lift | (proposed) |
| Facilities | day and overnight |
| Construction | 1991-1995 |
| Opening date | 1995-04-22 |
| Coordinates | 54°33′55.62″N 1°17′8.34″W / 54.56545°N 1.28565°W |
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Coordinates: 54°33′55.62″N 1°17′8.34″W / 54.56545°N 1.28565°W
The Tees Barrage White Water Course, formerly the Teesside White Water Course, is an artificial whitewater course on the north bank of the River Tees, in North East England. It is part of the Tees Barrage and is located in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees between the towns of Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough accessible by road only from Thornaby-on-Tees and best accessed by the A66. The course was built in 1995 at a cost of £2M.[1]
Contents |
Facilities
The course is owned by British Waterways but administered by Tees Active Ltd from the on-site watersports centre. The white water facility offers kayaking, whitewater slalom, playboating and white water rafting plus surfing on the 'surf wave'.
The centre's facilities include log cabins, a placid practice pool; watersports centre, shop and cafe; carparking, camping, picnicing and caravanning areas; bandstand and landscaped ampitheatre, pub, restaurant and hotel - The Talpore. The course itself is a 'U' shaped loop,[2] 250 m long, 7 m wide with a 2.5 m drop and a flow of 10 cumecs.[1] The immediate environs of the white water course include the Teesdale Way cycle path (National Cycle Network), the River Tees, the Tees Barrage and the placid grade A two star waters of Barrage Reach on the river Tees; the David Lloyd Leisure tennis centre, a superstore and Portrack Marsh Nature Reserve.
Operation
The state of the course depends on the level of the tide in the River Tees. The general tide levels are listed here:
- 2.0 m - Only two rapids are in flow and the other three are flooded out
- 1.5 m to 1.0 m - All five rapids are in flow and the bottom drop is reasonably small
- Below 1 m - All rapids are in full flow. The bottom drop is 3 m tall and it is inadvisable to go near it.
The course operates two or three hours either side of low tide[2] all year round and in hours of darkness can be flood-lit, and spot-lit on the two footbridges.
Photo gallery (2008)
 Tees Barrage White Water Course Centre and practice/warm up pool |
 Happy Eater |
 Rapids in front of the bandstand |
 Cruncher |
 Pool |
 Pedestrian bridge and final rapids |
 Lower pool |
 Public interpretation and information board for the course. |
Redevelopment
A £3.5M redevelopment is proposed for the course. Proposed changes include the addition of a new shorter, steeper course and a canoe lift with disabled paddlers in mind. Four large 12 m long 3 m diameter Archimedes' screws will be installed to pump water from the bottom pool to the top pool guaranteeing water levels for paddlers at all states of the tide.[3][4][5][6][7] There are plans to generate electricity from the head of river water above the barrage by putting the Archimedes' screws into reverse when not pumping water around the course, making the course more energy efficient.[3][5][6] These improvements will make the site a world class training facility which is proposed as a training camp location for the 2012 Olympic games.[3][4][6][7]
Note
The Tees Barrage White Water Course is not to be confused with The River Tees Watersports Centre, Dugdale Street, Stockton-on-Tees 1 km further upriver on the same side near the Princess of Wales Bridge or indeed the Castlegate Quay Water Sports Centre a little further up-river near Teesquay Millennium Bridge.
See also
- Nearby
- Tees Barrage
- River Tees
- Teesdale Way footpath
- Portrack Marsh Nature Reserve
- Teesside Park shopping complex
- Portrack.
- Other UK and International artificial whitewater centres
- Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre
- Cardiff International Whitewater Centre
- Cardington Artificial Slalom Course
- Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre
- Nene Whitewater Centre
- International Whitewater Courses.
References
- ^ a b "Whitewater Parks Worldwide". Mississippi Whitewater Park Development Corporation. http://www.whitewaterpark.canoe-kayak.org/whitewater_parks_worldwide.html. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
- ^ a b Redding, Mike. "River Tees Barrage". The UK Rivers Guidebook. http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/neengland/barrage.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-20.
- ^ a b c "Team GB Future Olympic Stars Training at Tees Barrage" (PDF). British Waterways & Stockton Middlesbrough Initiative. 2008-12-08. http://www.smi-teesvalley.co.uk/news/documents/MicrosoftWord-TEAMGBFUTUREOLYMPICSTARSTRAININGATTEESBARRAGE_000.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ a b McKenzie, Sandy (2008-06-25). "Public backing for £3.5m Tees Barrage development". Evening Gazette. http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2008/06/25/public-backing-for-3-5m-tees-barrage-development-84229-21143938. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ a b Walker, Tom (2008-06-13). "Tees Barrage course gets £3.5m upgrade". leisureopportunities.com. http://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/LOemail/wider_newsdetail1.cfm?codeID=70563&CFID=2899080&CFTOKEN=46008941. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ a b c "Team GB Future Olympic Stars Training at Tees Barrage". Middlesbrough Council. 2008-12-08. http://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk/ccm/content/news/1middlesbrough-council-press-releases/2008/team-gb-future-olympic-stars-training-at-tees-barrage.en;jsessionid=A3A6552F650D703A078695A54FC2C6E8. Retrieved 2009-01-20.
- ^ a b "Information about River Tees". waterscape.com. http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and-rivers/river-tees. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
External links
- Tees Barrage White Water Course official website
- Check the tide times at Tees Newport Bridge on BBC and Easytide websites and at the Tees Entrance on the Redcar & Cleveland Leisure website
- BBC Places Features - Tees Barrage including picture gallery and video links
- Evaluations and reviews of the Tees Whitewater Course on Visit Tees Valley, UK Rivers Guidebook and Playak
- Video: Tees Barrage feature
- Tees Barrage White Water Course on YouTube.
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