Slovenia June 2025

In mid-June Battersea Canoe Club escaped from London into the emerald valley of the Soča, for seven days of alpine water, sun and an excellent standard of après-paddle hospitality. With boats stacked, kit checked and our hired van full, we made the 20 hour drive to a comfortable challet near Bovec, a mountain valley town in Slovenia, and set about discovering why the Soča valley is a must for paddlers.

We split into two travel groups, a drive-down crew and a fly-in team, with everyone meeting up at the chalet in good time. Our first night was spent chatting over an expertly cooked meal of pasta while we discussed our aspirations of the week and potential plans for on the river.

Day 1 Čezsoča → Srpenica

A bright first day saw the group take a scenic, fast-flowing stretch from Čezsoča to Srpenica. The section proved the ideal warm-up with clean lines, friendly rapids and perfect water clarity. It gave everyone a feel for the local style, and plenty of time to laugh over the first-day kit adjustments and last-minute gear purchases from the Prijon shop. We returned to the chalet for drinks on the balcony and another excellent diner of stir-fry.

Day 2 Bunkerji → Kršovec (and Kršovec → Čezsoča)

We stepped things up with the Bunkerji– Čezsoča run, graded at III-IV, this has tighter rapids, bigger drops and some narrow stretches that tested the group. The afternoon leg from Kršovec back to Čezsoča gave the group a chance to rejoin with the less experienced members to play a little on the waves and take on this II-IV section. Our efforts were rewarded by a dinner of traditional dishes including goulash, sea bass and sheep’s cheese at the restaurant in town.

Day 3 Srpenica 1 → Tronvo 1 and Kršovec to Srpenica 2

Midweek, the group split in two for a day. Four members embarked on the longest run of the trip, 15 km, to re-run the Kršovec to Srpenica 2 section, an obvious favourite of the group if it wasn’t for the 100-meter climb to the road at the get out. The rest of the group tackled the next section downstream on the Soča, Srpenica 1 to Tronvo 1, picking up the grade slightly to III-IV and giving us our first glimpse of the renowned slalom course. An 800-meter run packed with drops and plenty of options to test the group. There’s little margin for error here with the river flowing directly into syphon canyon, which is as bad as it sounds. While scouting, our group almost gained two new members. A couple without many clothes had made their way down the footpath adjacent to the river, who were just as startled as we were to see them. A quick back track and a few minutes later they were reclothed and red-faced on their hasty exit. Two brave members went on to run the slalom course first and gave the group plenty of advice and stories to discuss over dinner.

Day 4 Slalom course & bike

For the rest of the group, it was their turn on the slalom course, a short run and which gave us enough time to call this a rest day. There was a quick discussion of the lines and the team promptly set off. With a few almost-back-loops later and one rescued German the team were safely off the water.

Some of the crew switched to e-bikes bikes for a quick spin in the afternoon, which made for sore bums but very happy faces at dinner. Two unlucky members had the responsibility of driving the van into the nearest garage, as it had a fault and was ticking down from 500 miles before it would drive no further. A showstopper, as we needed it to drive back to London. The garage helpfully looked at the dash and said nothing could be done while suggesting we would need to drive three hours back to Austria to get it looked at. Hopes of this being a quick fix were extinguished and we returned for an up-market meal in town to make us feel better.

Day 5 Koritnica

The Koritnica was todays headline. It’s gorge sections and sustained rapids rewarded quick scouting and teamwork. The run demanded concentration but also offered one of the most dramatic canyon passages most of us have paddled: narrow walls, tourquise water, and a sense of exposure. Everyone who ran it came off with huge grins and an appetite for the slow-down dip into an icy alpine pool afterwards.

Day 6 Otona → Volarje

On Day 6 we paddled the Otona section of the Soča, a gem that offers an easier, more forgiving version of the famous cataracts while keeping all the same jaw-dropping scenery and unreal turquoise water. The run began with a lively start, choose your own channel style, and the odd feature best avoided. Particularly the water pilling onto the pyramid rock that was narrowly missed by a few of the group. The section starts suddenly and eases along its length, keeping the frame of limestone walls and forested slopes. The rest of the group joined at camp Korek, where we stopped for a quick coffee and from here the river struck the perfect balance of excitement and flow, giving us all a taste of proper Soča beauty without the full intensity of the previous days. Easily ranking among the most enjoyable runs of the trip

Day 7 Farewell & goodbyes

There were personal bests, new lines and the usual mixture of relief and smugness that accompanies a week of solid paddling. We loaded the van, swapped photos, and all set off for journeys back already discussing which trip we’d run next.

Did we make it back to London with just 500 miles left on the van? Yes, with some initially unsuccessful google AI solutions attempted, all warning lights suddenly disappeared as soon as we crossed the border out of Slovenia. A welcome resolution to the weeks biggest problem.

Written by: Lawrence

Paddlers: Chessie, James, Jonathan, Lawrence, Lizzie, Maria, Paddy, Tim, Verena, Will

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