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The Calder river is a typical Pennine river, for much of the course it flows at a relatively low level with a large number of shallow parts on the non navigation parts of the river. This is why the navigation company built a number of weirs in the 1760’s to raise the level to allow working barrages to ply their trade up and down its length from Wakefield to Sowerby Bridge.

If you are sticking to the navigation you will have no problems with shallows, however due to its nature when we get heavy rain on the Pennine hills above Hebden Bridge and beyond we can be faced with a different story. There are a number of flood locks on the length of the canoe trail when heading down river onto one of the many canal cuts, these are normally left open at all times unless the river is rising rapidly in which case the Environment Agency will close them. The information on their closure can be found on the Environment Agency’s website and we would recommend you check this before planning your journey on the river sections. We would also strongly advise against doing this trail if the flood locks are closed.