To be honest, my family had an awful time. We made our reservations on a Thursday and didn't get our confirmation until the day before our trip after several calls to the office. First, let me say, the headquarters for the White Water Adventurers is four different parts to the same building: a cafe, a gift shop, and two storage rooms. There is no bathroom here; you have to walk across a parking lot and a road to get to a bathroom that is maybe cleaned once a month. We survived the bathroom and went back to the check-in area. They then shuttled us to the site where we were to get into the water. Unfortunately, the water level was too low, we were told, to use the rafting boats in the Middle Yough. We all had to go in kayaks. The site where we entered, the river was so low, you got stuck in rocks every two seconds for about a quarter mile. Then, we really got going. We went through rapids that are almost as big as the ones in my nearby creek.
After the first few "rapids" as they call them, there is a six mile calm stretch that we had to paddle nonstop. We couldn't take a break because our tour guides were so pushy, and one of them was completely impatient with my little sister and her friend because they were having problems with their kayak.
Our lunch was made up of some sandwich wraps, cookies, and a jug of water. There wasn't enough sandwiches packed for the whole group that consisted of about 14 people (though our guides adamantly apologized and informed the manager before our return). We then got back in our boats and continued to paddle. The guide and front went so far ahead of the group that we really had no idea where to go and where to hit the rapids at. Then, there was a very long stretch where it was pouring and we had to get out and pull our kayaks through the water. Finally, we made it the the take-out and walked a few blocks back to the headquarters.
I'm sorry this seems like a rant, but we really did have an awful time. Honestly, some of it was our fault, we should have watched the weather report and checked the water level, but as first time rafters we had no idea what to expect. I suggest that unless you have children under five years old, start off on the class two and three rapids. They'll be a lot more satisfying. We couldn't wait to change into dry clothes and leave, and my family will have to think a lot about whether or not we'll be using the same rafting place.