Bonus Bridge

We leave tomorrow so planned a quiet day close to our cottage but, earlier in the week had passed a side road with a sign for a ford - yes, another ford. Checking the map, we found another close to it. So we set off to visit them.

Ford 1, in extra 2, we parked by someone's house,there being no safer place. This covers the Bow Brook, as far as I can tell. The pedestrian bridge leads through a narrow tunnel through hedge and ends by a stile and signpost for a footpath with a notice that bulls, cows and calves are in the field...not that we could see any. We drove in to the next.

Ford 2 crosses the Bow Brook at a place called Shell. Here there is parking for a small picnic area and here we hit the jackpot as the pedestrian bridge is a Packhorse Bridge, with typical narrow width, enough for a horse with a wide pack as the parapet is very low (H & S nightmare). Here we met a group of GCSE Geography students who were taking measurements of the brook in four areas, they were articulate and polite mid teens. (Main photo)

Ford 3 proved quite interesting as we only noticed it when checking the map. It covers the Seely Brook which joins the bow between fords 1 & 2. Watching from the narrow, modern bridge we noticed a contraflow, as odd leaves were moving upstream. Mr Flum tried other twigs, even a modest stick and they all moved against the flow. We concluded that the wind was being funneled directly over the ford and affecting the surface water while below continued naturally. Here we spent some time watching butterflies, mainly whites, drinking in the muddy edges, in the collage (extra 1) there are seven, plus a small skipper. Meadow browns were feeding on pink bramble blossom, and a comma also (in collage). The red admiral came to drink at ford 1, though there were fewer whites.

Our challenge complete, we took unclassified roads to the cottage, including our own over Piddle Brook. Four fords and a bonus packhorse bridge seen in one morning sent us home well content.