Cowan Head mill rapid

Image: © Andy Waddington Taken: 16 Feb 2010

Lying immediately below a difficult weir, and enclosed by walls, this steep grade 4 rapid is difficult to inspect, especially since fierce signs warn non-residents to keep out of the area which includes the bridge which would be a useful viewpoint. At least nowadays the rapids are in daylight whereas formerly "this once had the distinction of being underneath a factory and was only paddled in darkness by the very brave". The former mill has been converted into holiday flats, painted white and visible from miles away on the fells, bearing more than a passing resemblance to some of the more extreme post-war purpose-built French ski resorts, and looking very out-of-place in the otherwise green landscape dotted with stone-built farm buildings. The level in this photo is far too low to paddle, but a tide mark on the fields above the weir attests to the volume of water which passes here in flood.

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