Willows and Water

Today we went into Bishop's Stortford early and had breakfast there, before going for a short walk along the bank of the river Stort. After this we walked back into town for a cup of tea before shopping for a few essential items that could not be got in Cambridge earlier this week. After shopping we returned home.

The Stort is the river that starts from the same watershed as our local river Cam/Granta, but runs South rather than North. Although it is wider by the time it reaches this point, than our local river is by the time it reaches us, it has travelled further and has grown at about the same rate. At this point the banks of the Stort are well populated with trees and other vegetation, which makes it quite attractive to walk beside, but there were no birds on the river and very little wildlife near it while a few years ago, they were both present in abundance.

The local council have recently metalled the footpath that runs alongside the river and fitted concealed lighting. While this makes it look better, it does not seem to be appreciated by the wildlife; I hope that this is only a temporary response. Today's blip is a picture of the river with willow branches trailing in the water and the metalled footpath visible on the right bank.