Last Sunday, as it was such a nice day, in what appears to be
something of an Indian Summer, we decided to go for a gentle
stroll along the towpath of The Kennet And Avon Canal. As we knew
that any popular location was likely to be packed, we decided to
drive to Wootton Rivers, a picturesque thatched cottage village
in Wiltshire, close to Marlborough and the Savernake Forest. We
had the choice of heading off in the direction of Reading, or
towards Pewsey. We chose the Reading direction and set off.
Straight away we came across two groups of people negotiating a
series of locks. All seemed to be going well until both barges
entered the lock together, but on exiting one barge became stuck
on the lock gate. There followed a series of intricate manoeuvres
until they managed to separate and peace was restored. A father
and his young son were further down the path fishing. They told
us that there are quite a variety of species in the canal,
although to us, the water was so muddy and cloudy, that nothing
was visible. Our scepticism was proved wrong however, when we
were walking back later and past them again, complete with
several fish in their keep net. The changing vista along what was
a comparatively short 2 mile distance was surprising. We went
from a wide open stretch of water with low hedgerow banks, to
narrow tree lined stretches which were dappled with subdued
sunlight. It's amazing how you tend to speak to everyone you
meet, when you wouldn't say anything if you passed them in the
street. The canal here runs alongside the railway track, so every
so often the silence would be broken by the passing trains. Other
than that, the silence was almost deafening! In fact we all
commented on how little wildlife there was, even the birds seemed
to have deserted the place. Luckily I always carry a supply of
carrier bags in my handbag, as my sister-in-law came away with
one bag of Hazelnuts and one of Blackberries, which we collected
on our way. The Blackberries were a little disappointing, as they
were very small, but that may have been that someone else had got
there before us and nabbed all the big juicy ones! We managed to
gather quite a few Hazelnuts, but that as because they were
falling from the trees as we passed, otherwise I think we would
have had some serious competition from the squirrels, judging by
all the empty shells strewn on the ground. With all the
unscheduled stops and delays, including the photograph stops of
course, the 4 mile return walk took us about two and a half
hours, an enjoyable way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.
