River Kent

The River Kent starts its life in the Kentmere valley, here it is weaving its way through the town of Kendal, about nine miles away, in benign manner.  Not so recently, the winter storms saw the water level rise, and keep rising, eventually flooding the riverside walk and the houses alongside it.  The many bridges that cross the Kent

had to be checked for safety, one closed,

This footbridge is the most modern of the bridges.  The Kent is a short river (20 miles) but one of the fastest flowing in the spring wending its way over weirs and waterfalls and through villages

but here it is on a still autumnal day placid in the sunlight passing through the Levens valley while

sheep graze

and goats keep a curious eye open.

Kent Viaduct at Arnside

Eventually it will reaches Morecambe Bay, mingle with the salt water 

 and head out with the tide into the Irish Sea.

 "You could not step twice into the same river" (Heraclitus)

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at K here

 

Sunny Days and Green Fields

What a wonderful run of sunny days just as the days are lengthening. The north wind is icy so its hats, gloves, scarfs and lots of layers. The sheep near Tunnel Hill need none of those things as they come complete with woolly covering. They look to be enjoying the sunshine as quite a few are lying down.

We were on our way to Heversham Head, as on a clear day the views are wonderful, but we were not paying attention so ended up approaching it the 'wrong' way up the hill so I had never seen
this interesting sheep gate and wall. I think at one time this must have been used as a stile, being idle we used the large gate. We carried on up hill from there to reach
the top, and the millennium orientation table which has the famous start of psalm 121 written around it "I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, from whence commeth my help, my help commeth from the Lord". These lines are popular in the county for I have seen them on numerous sundials, seats and in fact anywhere with a view; for the hills are eternal. The ones in the distance
on the horizon are the Coniston, Scafell and Crinkle Crag ranges. Just in sight part of the River Kent is snaking its way on the plain out to sea, the Cumbria Coastal Way long distance footpath follows it at this point.

Sorry no photos of the estuary itself as the sun was making its way west and shining low and directly into the lens. The best time to take an image would be the morning, or even better sunset then there would be glowing colours over Morecambe Bay. When I eventully decide to upgrade my camera it might be a good place to test it out. This may be some time off as I can't decide what type to get, DSLR or super zoom. The more I read the more I cannot make up my mind.

By River and Canal

The field have been harvested, the nights have turned cool and touches of colour are appearing in the trees.

River Kent, Levens Bridge

I went to see if the row of oaks at Levens were turning colour. The answer was, no, they were almost as green as summer with the leaf edges just starting to turn. Being English oaks they no doubt think it is still summer as the warmth is still in the air.
The sunny day tempted me on through woods, and along the Lancaster Canal near Hincaster where the water was so still that the reflections and trees almost merge.
You can walk a long way along this part of the canal so it is very popular with dog walkers. Both they and their dogs comes in all shapes and sizes.

On the way back the long haired goats were by the river bank. There were a couple of young kids of which this was one with its mother keeping her eye on it, or maybe not, they are not as skittish as sheep.
These are the Bagot goats, a rare breed brought into England around in the time of Richard the Lionheart, 12th century.
Reaching the end of my amble fell into conversation with someone I had seen on the other side of the river earlier in the day with a camera in hand. She was doing a photographic project on the River Kent from its source onwards. (Its a very short river, only about 20 miles long). The stillness of the day was a delight for her and was about to dash to Kendal to photograph the Kent as it cuts through that grey stoned town.

What and interesting project. This set me thinking which river I would choose. My favourite local river is the pretty Crake which runs from Coniston Water to the sea but is even shorter than the Kent. Perhaps this is something to do in those short winter days to come, brrr, what am I doing thinking of winter in October.