Five of us travelled to Devon to assess a section of the Barle River (graded 2). It runs through an attractive valley, and as the BCU guidebook says, it's ideal for one of the two beginners trips coming up soon. 

It's got plenty of play waves for surfing and good eddy lines with slow and fast moving water for practicing break-outs and break- ins and ferry gliding skills.

We'll probably sort out another suitable stretch in a different area for the second beginners trip. Maybe south Wales.