Messing about on the River
The River Ouse flows past Red House and this ancient highway provides an excellent route to visit other villages on its banks. Last Saturday evening, with the weather set fair, a canoe trip was organised to Newton-upon Ouse which lies 5km upstream. The party consisted of residents and friends of the estate, including one Royal Navy officer in case we got into difficulties.
There has been little rain recently so the river flow was kind to us on the upstream leg and only a gentle northerly breeze blew into our faces. As the sun lowered in the sky we were accompanied by the sand martins. These fast flying birds, recently returned from Africa, skim over the water feeding from the buzzing insects close the water surface, then they fly to their nest holes in the sandy banks. There were hundreds upon hundreds of them and it is gratifying to see how the numbers of these birds have increased since they were nearly wiped out by recent floods in two consecutive summers.
The sun was setting and the almost full moon rising as we arrived at Newton and took refreshments at the Dawnay Arms, a warm and welcoming (even to slightly damp and muddy canoeists) establishment.
The return journey was illuminated by the moon which was reflected in the mirror like waters of the Ouse. We were accompanied by bats which flew out of the willows to hunt the disturbed insects in our wake and the occasional owl could be spotted flitting silently over the river, silhouetted against the stars.
Certainly it was an evening to remember and will, no doubt, be repeated!
The photo shows Paul, Mike and Tim ready to set out from Redhouse Landing.