Down by the River Severn towards dusk

Helena stayed at home today as she was feeling rather too ill to go to work. I wasn't up to much myself but that was just a result of the all the efforts recently and the come down following the completion of the NDP event on Saturday. We will have a short break before we move on to the next stage.

I waited for the rain to end which took till mid-afternoon and then I drove to Gloucester to replenish some food stocks, but particularly the fresh tofu I buy form the Yip Shing asian wholesalers. I took the liberty of indulging myself on the way there. For some time I have just wanted to see the wide open expanse of the River Severn in its tidal zone and I chose to return to Epney which lies beyond the Sharpness to Gloucester canal in a fairly remote area.

Despite the extremely gloomy overcast sky, I was glad to be there, standing where the road meets the river for a few hundred yards after passing through all the farmland and orchards that predominate there. Standing on the flood protection banks I could look westwards across the river towards the Forest of Dean hills which lie behind the rolling farmland of West Gloucestershire.

It was very peaceful with only a few cars passing behind me and the sound of starlings beginning to gather around the farmyards and bushes, and various gulls, oystercatchers and other unidentified birds flying in formation along the curving line of the meandering river Severn.

I'm glad I went despite not catching any particularly good images. The river was nearing high tide so that there was only a small amount of sand on the far shoreline where the beaches at low tide attract vast numbers of feeding birds. I must remember to check the tide times next time, and maybe even aim to catch one of the famous Severn tidal bores when there aren't by crowds to spoil the occasion.