Ten More

I know it's hard to believe, but yesterday (14th) was a beautiful day on the river, or at least the riverbank. It was so sunny, it made it difficult to take a photograph.

It wasn't too sunny, or cold, to put off Andrew C, Andy W, Chris, David C, David M, Dexter, Ian, Keith, Matt nor me, from getting together to enjoy coffee and doughnuts, and Andrew's excellent homemade sausage rolls (thanks to Andrew's wife). We also did a lot of work as it happens, widening the track all the way to the big bend to make it easier for stocking. That was a good way to warm up as we first arrived, but we also had a bit of drama.

To start with, poor old Nigel called in very sick, though he was still able to supply the coffee via Matt, so we didn't miss him that much :-) You should be aware of the advice not to try and park at Stonebridge in this weather, but we had to locate 5 vehicles there, plus another 5 at Harpers, so there was a degree of jeopardy from the off.

These tracks were left by an AWD car in Trail mode, and this was trying to drive past the turning area. Unfortunately, it had been preceded by an FWD car which got stuck in the turning area, but luckily we had two Landrover Defenders there to tow him out. So. unless you're in a genuine offroad vehicle, don't venture anywhere the parking area, and even then, be very careful.

Sadly the river was pretty unfishable once again, as it was high, fast and very chocolatey, and not at all suitable for any in-river work. Nonetheless, Nigel's careful planning meant that we all had some good exercise, some good chat, good food, and even did some good work.

Not a bad day, and if you want to give it a try, contact Nigel before the next one on 25th Feb.

Cheers

PeterB