The River Ribble empties into the Irish Sea on the coast of the north west of England. A tidal bore runs up much of the tidal section, downriver of the city of Preston. Here I paddle a run of the bore from Hutton Sands to Preston Docks.
In the lower sections the wave is 2-3ft on a good day, but as the wave front moves up river this steadily decreases until it is only a few inches high. The water depth decreases as it goes too.
Early on the bore makes for a fun ride, later on it becomes a challenge just to stay with as you thread through the shallows.
This bore is far from the largest, or the smoothest ride around, but somehow it has a little bit of northern grit about it, as it makes you work to stay the distance.
A good balance of fun, spectacle and challenge…
by John Willacy