Alongside the river

Not the usual riverside shot but you can just make it out on the lefthandside of the image.  I was on the final stage of the walk from the source of the River Otter in the Blackdown Hills to its mouth in Budleigh Salterton.  It wasn't the best of days for the walk as rain had been forecast, but at least we had no problems getting on the bus to the starting point.  In fact the weather was quite good as we set off from Newton Poppleford to soon find a path near to the river.  We were almost all on familiar territory as the route was mainly along the side of the river.  One kingfisher was spotted but I didn't manage to see it.  We came across this short tunnel of trees halfway through our walk.  Unfortunately the rain did come and we were drenched but only for about 20 minutes I guess, it was near the end of the walk as well.  We celebrated in style with the walk leaders having carried two bottles of champagne in a cool bag all the way along the route.  They also handed out certificates to those who completed the walk, with a sonnet to the River Otter by Samual Taylor Coleridge on the back, a nice touch.

Its been an interesting walk and great to now have a complete feel for the river.