I parked next to the Keeper’s Land Rover which is often confused with mine. They looked like bookends. I stood in the pouring rain and chatted to Andrew, the Keeper, for ten minutes. Just long enough to get soaked. The weather forecast was correct and after lunch the sun shone in a deep blue sky. The wind was strong and downstream.

The Keeper said that the river had changed over the winter, tons of sand had been washed into the Beats and a few trees needed removing.

I started just above Keeper’s Bridge, then moved upstream to the Sandy Pool and finally round the bend to the Redd. The level had dropped a bit but the water was still coloured. The willow catkins were just starting to show but the trout weren’t. Nevermind, it was a nice walk.

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