The tide is going out of the River Severn

Woodpeckers suggested that we use the last day of her holiday for a jaunt across the river Severn to Lydney, a small town on the edge of the Forest of Dean. She had found a pub which was recommended for its home made food situated in a small village a couple of miles south of Lydney and her offer to buy me lunch clinched it for me. We didn't leave till after midday, so we decided to head straight for lunch by driving north to Gloucester where we could cross the old bridge and then followed the river on the far bank as it winds and rolls through the very pretty countryside. The landscape is different because there is very different rock underlying it from the limestone on the east of the Severn. In fact some of the oldest rocks in the world outcrop in this area which makes the whole region a very divers and interesting geological area.

The pub was a very simple and old village local on the edge of the common and adjoining farm land, where llamas greet you from the field opposite the front door. The meal was a very good homemade fish pie topped with mashed potato and made with gluten free flour which was a a real bonus for Helena's diet.

The day had become cloudier after the early sunshine, but periodically the sun broke through and brought a lovely warm light. There was no wind at all by the time we reached Lydney harbour, which Helena had particularly wanted to visit again. It is situated about two miles out of the town and was built where the small canal brought coal down from the coal fields of the Forest of Dean. Locks allowed boats to moor in the upper harbour and await the high tides of the River Severn, on the opposite bank to Sharpness docks where the canal to Gloucester allowed boats access to the inland waterways leading to the Midlands.

Nowadays the harbour is an ancient monument as it only serves a few pleasure boats since all the industrial purposes have long gone. We decided on a circular walk which ran south-westwards along the bank of the Severn and we found a way to drop down from the bank to the very edge of the tidal area. It was so peaceful and we just hovered about there with our cameras enjoying the views straight across the river towards the part of Gloucestershire where we live as well as out towards the sea down the Bristol Channel. In the distance through the haze we could just spot the first Severn road bridge which the M4 first used to cross to Wales before the second bridge was built.

The tide was receding fast and revealed the huge areas of sand and mud banks in the one mile wide section of the estuary where we were standing. I took this picture of the birds excitedly exploring the water's edges as they were exposed revealing their food sources on the mud banks. On the far side are the remaining buildings of the decommissioned nuclear power station at Berkeley, which was shut down in 1989.
'The fuel has been removed and the next step of decommissioning will be the care and maintenance stage of the nuclear reactor structures, not scheduled to commence until 2026, when the level of radioactive decay will mean they can be demolished. The site won't be completely cleared until 2080' ..... according to Wiki !!!

But I did like this view in the setting light. I have taken a lot of pictures and might in time add more to my Flickr gallery, but not tonight.

We drove home at 5pm taking the road south to the Severn bridge, on to the M4 and then heading north up the M5 to Stroud where the rain fell torrentially and dark grey clouds loomed. We have both had another good day out together in the spring time. I am sure there will be lots more.