Paddle Board at Byron’s Pool Cambridge
Byron’s Pool, named after Lord Byron as he used to swim at the weir pool, is a lovely spot to paddle board.
Have you wanted to paddle here but are unsure where to start? I’ve paddled here several times, so I’ll tell you about parking, accessing the water, and paddling south away from Cambridge towards Hauxton Mill.
Byrons Pool is a pleasant woodland site, that has a circular walk. It’s next to the River Cam and you can see Kingfishers and Grey Wagtails at the weir. It’s located in Granchester, which is a village just on the edge of Cambridge.
Parking
There’s a car park at Byron’s Pool and it’s free as well, which makes it really easy to access. There’s also a small grassy area right next to the car park so you can blow up your board.
The car park is not that big, however, so it’s possible it could be full if it’s a sunny day and the weekend. If that’s the case, in the summer there is a larger car park on a field as you head back into Granchester just on the left, less than a minutes drive, which should be open, with a small fee. You can also park by the side of the road here if there are spaces, where there is no charge.
Accessing the water
The water’s edge is just a matter of metres from the car park / grassy area. Keep left and walk down and you’ll come to a platform. It’s quite high up so you’ll need to be comfortable lowering yourself straight down to stand on to your paddle board, rather than the usual way of starting on your knees then standing up.
If you have parked at the other car park in the field or along the road, you’ll want to enter the water in a different place to when you actually park at Byron’s Pool as it will be too far to walk. Walk left out of the car park and over the small bridge and there is a pond there to access the water. When you leave the pond the river splits – turn right and you’ll be heading towards Byron’s Pool.
The paddle journey: Byron’s Pool to Hauxton
You’ll reach the Byron’s Pool area in only a short time, around 10-15 minutes depending on your paddle speed and where you started from.
When you get here you’ll see a weir. You’ll have to get out of the water to get past it. It’s very easy as there are two launch platforms on the left.
Climb out and then you have to walk straight ahead and very quickly you’ll come to another platform on the other side where you can easily get back into the water.
It’s a really beautiful stretch from Byron’s Pool. That’s where the first photo at the top of the page is from and the one below.
After around 10 minutes you’ll go under a bridge (the M11). It’s a fairly wide bridge so you’ll either need to duck down for a while or get down to your knees. Not long after the M11 you’ll reach a split in the river and you’ll need to decide which way to go.
Unfortunately at this point, the river gets quite narrow it seems for either way you go. I went left (my left as I was on the board). That way heads to Hauxton Mill. I went for about another 30 minutes.
You may not like it though if you don’t like a lot of ducking and diving as there were lots of trees to traverse under. At times the water was very shallow and the board fin got stuck a few times.
Some parts though were more open where you could stand up again and see across the fields.
I didn’t go as far as Hauxton Mill though I did meet some canoeists who’d come from that way so it’s possible to go that far despite some of the complications (though it’s probably easier in a small canoe).
If you don’t want to bother with this part then you may be better to turn back after the river separates and head back. If the paddle is too short then you could paddle back the other way towards Granchester village, which is also a beautiful paddle, and onwards to Cambridge.
Overall though it’s a very scenic paddle and one I’d really recommend if you like peace and quite as apart from the Canoeists, I saw nobody on the river throughout the paddle.
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