Tag: river

August 15th – Last spring, every time I came to Redditch, the state of the River Arrow worried me. It had been such a dry year that I feared for the ecology and hydroecology of this little-noticed waterway. The flow slowed to a lazy trickle, the waterfowl and kingfishers vanished. Conditions were bad.
What a difference a bad summer makes. Now, the Arrow is flowing through it’s valley park beautifully, and the sound of flowing water has returned, as have the kingfishers. A remarkable, and most welcome recovery. If you want to know why I was late, it wasn’t the train. I stood for 5 minutes watching the birds and enjoying the spirit of the water.

July 15th – It was, on occasion, a bright sunny day. But it wasn’t warm, and when the sun went in, the chill was evil. I was cycling in the evening, and my journey to Yoxall, Barton and the Trent and Mersey river section at Alrewas was beautiful, but challenging. I was in shorts and cold; my energy low, and I bonked. (That’s where you need food, and you suddenly flatline. Runners call it ‘Hitting the wall’). Still, the countryside was as gorgeous as ever, and it reminds me to keep grazing and stock up with snacks before I leave for a long ride.

July 8th – When the summer floods come, I head for the floodplains of the Tame, Trent and Mease. Around the National Memorial Arboretum and Croxall, the Tame always bursts its banks and spills onto the A513. Between Edingale and Harlaston, the Mease floods. Back at Elford, the Tame reclaims the nearby farmland. 

I love to ride through these floodwaters. Very challenging, it’s a fun, demanding thing to do. On this Sunday evening, in sandals and shorts, the water came above my wheel hubs, but wasn’t as bad as 2007, when almost the entire bike was submerged. An impressive, destructive thing.

December 12th – Sadly, only these two photos today of the River Arrow in Redditch. It was my first day there in nearly a month, and the Arrow Valley now has its winter coat well and truly on. Gone are the greens of summer and golds of autumn, now the trees are black silhouettes and new views have opened up. I noticed as I crossed the river bridge near Ipsley that the river was flowing healthily again. Not yet back up to full strength – I can’t hear it yet – the small river seems to be taking an absolute age to recover from the dry summer.

I had more pictures planned for this evening, but I came home late in a rain storm, and just couldn’t bring myself to stop. Those who the cycling gods wish to destroy, they first bestow driving rain, and uphill commute and a headwind. Horrid journey.