Down by the river side

OK - what the heck has happened to this system?  Oh, how I hate change for change's sake . . . I am now trying to work out how the heck I get photos in each post . . .

Anyway, today my daily walk was taken walking upriver on its bank, along a path now only used by fishermen, badgers, foxes and today, me.  When my children were smaller we used to walk along that way a lot.

There are different swirls and eddies along this stretch of the river.  I missed the bit where they used to bring the sheep down to wash them in a shallow stretch, blocking off that section of the river with hurdles tied to the bank I presume. 

You will have to make do with these photos for the moment, as we have to go in for D.  I am still getting the hang of doing the photos . . .

The first happy little faces of Common Vetch .

 This is looking back downstream.  On the left is a big fallen tree which has collected quite a bit of driftwood against its roots, from when the river was running in spate.

It's quite overgrown along the bank, and the trees are just left to grow, in the main, although I did notice one or two branches cut back where they had fallen across the pathway.

Sometimes we used to see Roe Deer here in the scrubby woodland to the right of the path.

There are different eddies and dips along this stretch of the river, although it isn't the rocky canyon it becomes below the bridge.

The riverbank was studded with the white flowers of Wood Anemones, and the yellows of Primroses and Celendines.  Apart from the Ash, which is always late to the feast, all the trees were putting out green leaflets.

The river tossed and leapt over rocks as it passed this little rocky islet to one side of the main flow.

A Peacock butterfly paused on the pathway, long enough for me to take a photo of him.  One that has over-wintered safely.  I sawOrange-tips, Small Whites, and a Speckled Wood too.

This field has been planted with indiginous trees - Silver Birch, Ash, Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Gean (wild Cherry), Oak, Beech and many many Hazels!