Staying Home Sucks, home
Glascarnoch River at Black Bridge
Blackwater, Garve Upper. Photo: Alan Reid, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Blackwater, Garve Upper

Kayak spot · UK

Whitewater: a river with rapids

Is it worth the trip?

52Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Tue 3: Wind 2 kn gusting 6, Air 8 °C, River levels: no free forecast gives them, so check a gauge before you go

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 55 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
8°C
Rain
0 mm

Wed 4 · 54 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
4kn
Air
7°C
Rain
0 mm

Thu 5 · 49 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
5°C
Rain
0 mm

Fri 6 · 52 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
6°C
Rain
0 mm

Sat 7 · 51 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
6°C
Rain
0 mm

Sun 8 · 50 out of 100

Wind
1 kn
Gusts
6kn
Air
6°C
Rain
0 mm

Mon 9 · 48 out of 100

Wind
2 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
4°C
Rain
0 mm

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 257, fair
  2. Tue 355, fair
  3. Wed 454, fair
  4. Thu 549, fair
  5. Fri 652, fair
  6. Sat 751, fair
  7. Sun 850, fair
  8. Mon 948, fair
  9. Tue 1051, fair
  10. Wed 1152, fair

The spot in three facts

  • Grade IVat its hardest
  • Moving waterthe water
  • Best Jul–Aug7 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number
Wind and weather forecast and score for each day at Blackwater, Garve Upper
DayScoreWindGustsAirRain
Mon 2Nov57, fair4 kn10kn9°C0 mm
Tue 3Nov55, fair2 kn6kn8°C0 mm
Wed 4Nov54, fair1 kn4kn7°C0 mm
Thu 5Nov49, fair2 kn9kn5°C0 mm
Fri 6Nov52, fair2 kn8kn6°C0 mm
Sat 7Nov51, fair2 kn8kn6°C0 mm
Sun 8Nov50, fair1 kn6kn6°C0 mm
Mon 9Nov48, fair2 kn9kn4°C0 mm
Tue 10Nov51, fair4 kn10kn6°C0 mm
Wed 11Nov52, fair2 kn6kn6°C0 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 Jul–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. Mar0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May4of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun6of 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. Sep5of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov0of 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 Blackwater, Garve Upper

The weir at Black Bridge
Photo: Jennifer Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Weir at Black Bridge
Photo: sylvia duckworth, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Black Water valley from Creag Rais
Photo: Julian Paren, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

More kayaking near here

2 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Blackwater, Garve Upper

A river section on the Blackwater, from a put-in down to a take-out. Grade IV, on the international scale. Suits expert paddlers only, by its grade. No paddling school, club or hire within 50 km on the map. For expert paddlers the best months are usually July and August, with about 7 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Garve.

  • River Blackwater
  • Grade Grade IV, 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 No paddling school, club or hire within 50 km on the map.

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$2,600 each

about US$1,390–US$2,600 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 2 November 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$423–US$886
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$141–US$235
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$322–US$543
Food7 days eating outabout US$315–US$584
Kayak hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$188–US$349
Totalabout US$1,390–US$2,600

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Garve

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

Closest

Garve

about 20 min by car · 4 places to stay

about US$121/nightcountry average

See 4 places to stay in Garve · Booking.com

About Garve 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 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 15h 35m

About 15h 35m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → EDI, direct, then 3h 45m 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

No paddling school, club or hire mapped within 50 km.

Schools, clubs and hire: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

Saved: this link opens the same trip

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The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.