Staying Home Sucks, home
Confluence of the Kirk Burn and the Alvain Burn
Kirk Burn. Photo: Richard Sutcliffe, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Kirk Burn

Kayak spot · UK

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

56Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

3 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 57 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
9°C
Rain
0 mm

Wed 4 · 57 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
8°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 57 out of 100

Wind
7 kn
Gusts
20kn
Air
9°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 56 out of 100

Wind
6 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
8°C
Rain
1.8 mm

Sat 7 · 55 out of 100

Wind
4 kn
Gusts
11kn
Air
8°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 55 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
8°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 49 out of 100

Wind
3 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
5°C
Rain
0 mm

Tap a day for wind, gusts, air and rain. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 256, fair
  2. Tue 357, fair
  3. Wed 457, fair
  4. Thu 557, fair
  5. Fri 656, fair
  6. Sat 755, fair
  7. Sun 855, fair
  8. Mon 949, fair
  9. Tue 1049, fair
  10. Wed 1156, fair

The spot in three facts

  • Grade Vits hardest rapid V+
  • Moving waterthe water
  • Best Jun–Aug7 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number
Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Kirk Burn
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov56, fair1 kn4kn9°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov57, fair4 kn9kn9°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov57, fair6 kn13kn8°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov57, fair7 kn20kn9°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov56, fair6 kn16kn8°C1.8 mm
Sat 7Nov55, fair4 kn11kn8°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov55, fair3 kn9kn8°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov49, fair3 kn8kn5°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov49, fair8 kn18kn6°C5.1 mm
Wed 11Nov56, fair4 kn15kn8°C0.9 mm

Wind and gusts are in knots, rain in mm. River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

best Jun–Aug

Good kayaking days in a typical week, each month, for expert paddlers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May6of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep6of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov1of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical weather, not a forecast, and not the river's level: a month that is often good to be outside may still be low water.

Map

put-in, take-out, its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Kirk Burn

Small tributary joining the Kirk Burn
Photo: Richard Sutcliffe, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Alnwick Burn, Campsie Fells
Photo: Euan Nelson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Moorland by the Alvain Burn
Near Kirk Burn. Photo: Alan O'Dowd, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

More kayaking near here

3 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Kirk Burn

A river section on the Kirk Burn, from a put-in down to a take-out. Grade V, its hardest rapid V+, on the international scale. Suits expert paddlers only, by its grade. None within 10 km, the nearest 14 km away. For expert paddlers the best months are usually June, July and August, with about 7 good days in 7; in January, February and December, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Glasgow.

  • River Kirk Burn
  • Grade Grade V, its hardest rapid V+, on the international scale.
  • Who it suits Suits expert paddlers only, by its grade.
  • Access No source states the access rules: check locally.
  • Schools, hire None within 10 km, the nearest 14 km away.

Spots and rivers: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Whitewater sections © Rivermap (rivermap.org), Riverzone and Jonathan Riddell, ODbL.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,390–US$2,590 each

about US$1,390–US$2,590 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, kayak hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to EDI, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$422–US$884
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$141–US$234
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$322–US$543
Food7 days eating outabout US$315–US$583
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$188–US$348
Totalabout US$1,390–US$2,590

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Glasgow

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Glasgow

about 30 min by car · 210 places to stay

about US$121/nightcountry average

See 210 places to stay in Glasgow · Booking.com

About Glasgow its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$121 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 13h 10m

About 13h 10m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → EDI, direct, then 1h 15m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

On the water

River level

River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go.

Paddling schools, clubs and hire nearby

  • Pinkston Watersports Centre 14 km

The nearest named schools, clubs and kayak or canoe hire within 25 km, in a straight line. Listings, not a recommendation. Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits