Down by the River Weaver in Cheshire & inspired homeware

Up through new houses of pottering suburbia and down to the river bank, plopping down the hill like little water voles to the pathway. A beautiful day for watching the boats, smiling at dogs sniffing and the swans keeping a keen eye on them. Time for the joggers and the cyclists to come out and general river life busyness is restored in spring warmth.

A cormorant with a dipping dive resurfaces by an overhanging blackthorn, frosted with blossom now and joined by egg dipping yellow celandine, starryeyed spring riverbanks.

Further on by the bridge is a contrast of delicate powdery forget-me-nots against steel and bold graffiti, all part of the ambiance, river life good with the bad. Slight sludgyness of water here but clearing to waters by the riverside cottage where a dog barks by daffodils and a greenhouse shows signs of recent enthusiasm for the new season with rows of pots filled with who knows what, beans, peas or sweetpeas....

Rusty old boats overlook a skyline of a white college cupola, fretwork and a non moving no gusts today weathervane in a clear blue sky. A world of contrasts here, silent forgotten dull river craft and the chug of a brightly painted canal boat, tarnished metal against puff ball pink blossom, running against peaceful bench resting wanders.

River walking inspired items based on the things I saw - cormorants, rust, forget-me-nots, jolly boats, gardening, modern art, blossom pink and cheerful yellow.

Cormorant tea towel, Black Bough £7.50// Metallic rust tealight holder, Abode Living £12//Seed wedding favours, Etsy £1.45//Narrowboat bird box, NotHS £59//
Gardeners Mug, Laura Ashley £5.04// Banksy Flying Balloon Girl doormat, Etsy £24.99// Ronseal Cherry Blossom garden paint, Amazon £4// Cheery Plastic Cup, Debenhams £6//

Swan update July

Just to recap on our resident swans who last year and indeed for several years before have not had any cygnets but this year as I reported back in June, they had 8 young.

U is for Ugly Duckling

A unexpected walk by the river so I only had my camera phone and the zoom, well it's poor quality and grainy but how could I resist showing you.

 U is for Ugly Duckling 

Sunday Snap - the Runcorn Bridge

The Runcorn Bridge, or Silver Jubilee Bridge, spanning the Manchester Ship Canal and the estuary of the River Mersey.  It crosses what is known as the Runcorn Gap, connecting Runcorn and Widnes, extremely industrial areas and the gateway to Merseyside.

It stands 80ft high to allow for the passage of ships along the Ship Canal and opened in 1961.

I always marvel at bridges, such great feats of engineering allowing for the safe passage of what is now more than 80,000 vehicles a day.

Parallel is the Runcorn Railway Bridge, I must admit that I prefer that bridge, built in 1868, railways are far more exciting than roads. It's a beauty too and I need to work out where to stop and take a picture of it safely from. And it has a story associated with it involving the Saxon Queen Ethelfleda ....but I'll save that for another time.

Shiny black fishers

 Along the river sat a curious bird, not one I've seen too much of before, especially at such close proximity. The Cormorant. Large and bluish black with iridescent sheen, sat on its nest situated out on a limb in the the river. A fish eating, member of the Pelican family with a hooked beak that allows it to grasp the fish.  It didn't seem to mind passers by at all, it sure had some confidence even when a dog waded into the river. I watched it for a while and studied its movements, self assured and catching my eye from time to time. 

This week they are the King's swans

 A colony of swans in the River Soar / Grand Union Canal in Leicester. As we walked around the city for the Richard III reburial events we spent some time in Castle Park overlooking the river.

Evening river walks

 An evening walk to cast away niggles and the stress of unfinished work away. 10 minutes from our home is a river to do just that. Busy at the end of a sunny day with dog walkers, cyclists and those using the water. A perfect way to relax and get some fresh air. Synchronised creaking of oars and a clean slice through the water. Melodic, sending droplets through the air and a crest of a ripple through the dark waters of the Weaver. Frothy plants, weeds and flowers are contrasted with the old boat yard and it's steel angles and rust of forgotten pleasure craft.   There's a swan that seems to always be around where the river forks - maybe it is several swans taking turns but in my mind it is the same one. He paddles around a small garden that is the middle of the fork. A truly amazing little piece of green with swings and a hammock. He must be their guard swan as he gets rather cross with any ducks that come near. How lovely would it be to have evening tea over there.  The boatyard - beautiful in its own way. Never, ever seen anyone over there. It's all a bit mysterious and a boating graveyard. I've looked up some of the older, rusting boats and found out about their working lives before they retired at the side of the river. The rowing club. If I had more time and the guts, I'd love to learn. For the polish community in our town, a notice about fishing laws I guess. Interesting. This poster then brought about lots of reading about poaching and fishing licenses. Learn something new every day as they say.  A brief stop on a bench as the light starts to ebb away. The atmosphere on the river slowly starts to change, quieten down and you can hear the occasional 'pip' of a bird somewhere is the reeds. If you are in a lucky spot, you may even see the blue streak of a kingfisher. Not today. Just the swan.....still chasing the duck away.  The old tugboat Proceed rusting away, built in 1955 and once a very busy tug on the River Mersey among other places. Here she is in her heyday. 
Can't help but feel sorry for her now.

Source

Next time we must go across the locks to the nature reserve. So many areas to explore,

we are very lucky to live so close by and although I would love to live by the coast, this is a formidable close second.

Love Bug

 Country walks with our dogs.

Tara constantly checks that me and Little Bird are still walking behind. My senior wolf.

 Sniff, sniff, many stops.

 Little Bird with his backpack to carry his drink and snacks. Lost in his own thoughts. Memorized by the greenery or the birds or the buzzy creatures or the clouds.....

Many paths to choose. We don't let Billy off his lead for fear he'd get run off and get distracted. He's such a scamp.

 Blossoms and cow parsley. Different grasses. Should take my Hubbard book - not the easiest of identification books but I loved it when I used to do botanical surveys. 

Alder leaf beetles. Amorous little creatures.

They like eating leaves as much as bug passion.

Still checking. 

At the duck pond. Billy takes a peek. Tight leash. 

I used to live nearby to here. A new housing estate. Sometimes I wish we all could move back as it's quiet and children play out. Expensive houses though for the size. Little Bird would like it here so it's something to consider for the future.

Wish the sun would come back!

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By the Riverbank again

Another late summer's evening walk along the river bathed in glimmering shafts of light.
Leaving the locks behind, we all head up the path to see who and what we will meet.

Lots of dog walkers, pitter patter paws and crunchy gravel. One of our dogs, Milly once jumped in the river here but scared herself so hopefully she won't do it again.

The river passes  Sir John Deane's College which has it's own leisure centre, pool and outside courts etc. The floodlit pitches are always in use by the local footballers and the fields are packed at the weekend with rugby players too.

There are a few routes to take for your stroll or your bike ride. My town is brimming with nature reserves due to a lot of previously industrial/mining land that cannot be built on for residential use, so it has been developed for nature instead and it's thriving! Over time these nature areas have been linked together and much time and effort has been put together to provide beautiful areas for us to explore. A curiosity of this area is that we have plants from the seaside growing in parts due to the underlying bedrock and the previous industries remnants - it's all about salt!

The boat yard is a curiosity. People moor here too and it 's lovely to see groups of people having barbecues and sat on deckchairs enjoying the summer by the water. I wish we could join them.

It's almost like a scene from Lost!

To return home we can cut through a new housing estate where I used to live. It's a well established community now and a lot of thought went into the design of open space here. There are several duck ponds and plenty of play areas and all are well kept. Many of the original trees have been retained and wildlife is still aplenty. Some of the grander houses have a river outlook and onto the fields beyond. Perhaps I would like to move back onto here so Little Bird can play outside more since the roads are quieter. Maybe.....