After some last minute arrangements I picked up Graham at just gone 6.30am and we headed down to Dulverton, some 130 miles south. It was about the same time last year that we did the Barle and the level then was very good, running a good grade III with bits of grade IV. We knew that it was going the be lower than last year but there are two good things about the Barle, First is the location, fantastic scenery paddling through the Exmoor National Park, and the second is that it is fairly consistent white water.
After a bit of confusion over the arrangements (last year we paddled from Tarr Steps to The Anchor Inn, just outside Dulverton) this year we were paddling from Tarr Steps to The Bridge Inn, in Dulverton. Graham and I arrived at the get out about 9.15am shortly followed by Paul H, Richard W and Ben B. A quick chat followed and we agreed to paddle from Tarr Steps to the Bridge Inn, see what time we got there and then decide if we wanted to paddle the extra 2 miles or so down to The Anchor Inn, taking in the Mill Weir. We were able to do this as Tina and Richards wife were there and were able to do the ferry for us.
So we got changed and headed off. As we left Dulverton we encountered a Diversion sign. Anyone who knows this area will also know that there is no easy diversion heading from Dulverton to Tarr Steps. So a journey that should have taken 20 minutes took nearly 40 minutes.
We arrived at Tarr Steps and as we thought the levels were quite a bit lower that last year, making it a good grade II/III. We set off and the joy of the Barle soon came back, while not a big grade the rapids were continuous for the first few hundred yards. There is also quite a gradient on sections of the Barle, as you look ahead it is clear how much it is a down hill flow this is a key element as the water runs with a pace which is more evident in higher water levels.
There were number of play spots as we made our way down river, with some excellent waves that caused us to spend time having fun and brushing up our skills as we went.
We approached the weir just outside Dulverton, shot it to the left and headed down to the last part before the get out. There is a nice bit where the river narrow due to a large boulder on either side and other rocks in the river which causes the current to pour over each other at the narrow point and then swirl around in an eddy just after. Richard was last through and as he came through on the one small pour over he leaned slightly to his right, just as his boat was level with the second current and over he went, in a typical corkscrew fashion. Needless to say seconds later he was out and we had him, boat and paddle to the side and all was well.
Only hundred yards later we were at the get out and we decided, as we had taken our time and enjoyed ourselves we would finish here.
As usual Ben was suffering with the cold on his hands,but again as usual he made light of this, ever the hero 
. Graham was pleased with his new boat as was Paul with his LOMO drysuit.
The paddling was great. Scenery fantastic. Very little sign of life anywhere with only a few houses until the end of the trip. Great trip alround and one worth repeating again in the future.
Unfortunately, due to the area it can be difficult to predict the levels of the Barle but the picture below is downstream of the bridge in Dulverton taken the day before from the webcam at http://www.stanburys-garage-dulverton.co.uk/ and the level at Tarr Steps was a good 12 inches below the steps, making the river good grade II/III.
