Last days of Autumn in the Wye Valley

Last weekend I was lucky enough to spend a day fishing on the River Wye, between Hay and Hereford.  Formerly the preserve of the very wealthy, fishing on the Wye and Usk is now accessible to ordinary folk, thanks to the Wye and Usk Foundation, a charity committed to improving water habitats for wildlife and anglers. For a daily fee typically between £15 and £20, it is possible to fish for a day on this beautiful river. 

Every year, I visit two or three times, as a treat, because the fishing can be fantastic and the landscape is always exceptional.  

One of the characteristics of the River Wye are structures built for salmon fishing in the sport’s heyday one hundred or more years ago.  All along the river, from Builith to below Monmouth there are man made croyes or groynes, built into the river to create both resting pools for salmon and dry places underfoot for fishing from. On the river bank there are fisherman’s huts, ranging from little shelters just big enough for a bench to summer houses complete with veranda overlooking favourite fishing pools.  All of these features are set in the landscape of sporting estates, replete with ‘Private Fishing’ signs, shelter belts for pheasants, gothic mansions and carriage tracks leading to the river.

Despite the manmade interventions, the River Wye and its sister the Usk, remain wild rivers, capable of turning into torrents within hours.  Once in flood both rivers can change the landscape rapidly.  At Maesllwch, the River Wye has in recent years formed a new ox bow lake, which is now silting up.  Cast adrift from the river is a substantial fishing hut, now half a kilometre away from running water.  Salmon no longer rest in the pool below the hut, but I sometimes imagine that an ancient retired colonel might still use the hut, casting with rheumatic eyes to fish in the stagnant pool below.  Earlier this Autumn I fished on the Usk from a massive fishing concrete pier that now slopes alarmingly into the river.  The hole beneath the concrete is now a favourite holding point for salmon. Originally built for making fly fishing easier, the subsiding pier is now fishable only by a carefully placed worm.

On the beauty of brambles

Earlier this week we were appraising a site in Ascot, Berkshire.   The colour of the beech and maple trees was predictably magnificent.

But what captured my attention more was the range of colour on the brambles, ranging from greens, browns, purple, red, orange yellow and black.  The colours are absolutely stunning, if you take the time to look closely at the humble plant. I take inspiration from such plants for colours for outdoor furniture and fencing and have installed orange and purple benches into rural landscapes with success.

The Kymin

Last week we went to survey a new site up in Hereford, near where my colleague Shaun hails from.  The route we chose to take reflected the sunny day – we just had to take the Picturesque route along the Wye Valley, past Chepstow, Tintern and Monmouth, then to Hereford via some local roads known to Shaun.  The Wye valley was a spectacular blaze of autumn colours, bright Limestone cliffs and blue sky.  After bursting out of the gorge at Monmouth, we drove through the Herefordshire countryside, passing colourful orchards, newly ploughed red soil and lush green pastures.

On the way back from Hereford, we stopped for lunch at the Kymin, a famous viewpoint overlooking Monmouth and the Wye Valley.  The Kymin is a summerhouse built in 1794 by the Monmouth Picnic Club, at the height of the Picturesque Movement.  From the valley below, the height of the hill is misleading, for our ears were popping as we drove up the winding lane to the top.  From the Summerhouse, the views over Monmouthshire are spectacular.  The River Wye below is mostly hidden by trees, though in Nelson’s time it must have been more open, as the arrival of his boat was announced with by a salvo from four pounder canons firing from the Round House .   For further information visit:

The National Trust at  http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-thekymin-2

Knowle Park School allotment project

Full planning consent has been granted for a change of use of the land at the rear of the school.  The application allows for the land to become a wildlife area, allotment and play area.  Excellent news.