About Hirst Weir

There has been a weir at Hirst Mill on the River Aire, Shipley for more than 750 years. Whilst it no longer provides power for a mill it now provides a particularly picturesque length of slack water suitable for the sports of rowing, canoeing, and fishing.

Bradford Amateur Rowing Club has been rowing from Hirst Weir for nearly 150 years and the stretch is also used by BradfordGrammar School, the University of Bradford Rowing Club, Bradford & Bingley Canoe Club and Saltaire Angling Association.

The riverside path, part of the Bradford Millennium Way, is extensively used by recreational walkers, cross country runners and cyclists.

The weir is owned by Hirst Weir Limited (HWL) - a company limited by guarantee and with charitable aims, has been created by members of Bradford Amateur Rowing Club to maintain the weir in order to support rowing and other recreational uses of the upstream stretch.

Currently under certain flow conditions a large wave forms at the toe of the weir. This hydraulic jump, as it is known, is both a danger to canoeists and the cause of continued erosion and potential failure of the weir.

If the weir were to fail it would no longer be possible to row on the river and there would be significant environmental impact on the river as a whole – changing a landscape that has been in existence for more than 750 years.