The River Breamish Riverbank Protection project began in August 2019 and anyone who’s kept abreast of developments will likely know that one of the final stages of the project was to lay some coir matting at Site 1 (what I’ve referred to as the ‘whirlpool’ previously). This can be seen in some nice aerial shots taken by Tweed Forum.
The river moves, but it follows a path. When it tires of one journey, it rubs through some rock to forge a new way. Hard work, but that’s its nature.
Kekla Magoon
Enlarging one’s imagination, forcing oneself to conceive of something beyond normal limits.
We are so privileged here in the Breamish Valley, as it has an abundance of wildlife. And, if you’ve been looking up, you will most likely, at some point, have seen a majestic, large-winged heron pulling itself effortlessly through the sky.
I last posted some images of Common Sandpiper on the River Breamish back in June 2015. Not that I haven’t seen them since, only that I haven’t taken the time to photograph them. Anyway, out on my once-a-day exercise a couple of days ago, I saw a few sandpiper along the banks of the River Breamish, along the valley towards Ingram. I’m not really a wildlife photographer, as I don’t have the proper equipment to do it. However, I did manage to get these shots of this fairly small wading bird that can be seen here in Northumberland during the summer months. It typically arrives around March-April each year and then, after breeding, it leaves around July-August.
My once-a-day exercise frequently finds me somewhere along the River Breamish. And now that Spring has very much set in, there’s lots of undergrowth to be careful of as you’re walking. So, I spend a lot of my time watching my feet, so as not to trip. Even as someone who enjoys taking photographs of whole landscapes, I have to force myself to look up. And it can be rewarding. There’s a lot to miss when we forget to look up.
On my walk around the stunning yellow Hedgeley yesterday, I also happened upon several sand martin that appeared to be in the process of exploring the banks of the River Breamish to choose the best spots for excavating their nesting tunnels. Being a social bird, hundreds of pairs can readily nest close together in a colony. On my walk, though, I’d guess I saw around 20 sand martin exploring one bank in the bend of the river.
Went out on my once-a-day exercise a bit later yesterday afternoon, as our home school video lesson for our granddaughters was scheduled for later in the day. The girls had to do a virtual egg hunt in the garden (using Google Duo on an iPad) and when they found an egg there was a sum on it. They had to work out the sum and an associated clue – which basically spelled out ‘Simon Says’ – and then we played that. So lucky to have all this helpful modern technology.
[Credit: Header image copyright © Tweed Forum 2019 and used with permission.]
As the River Breamish Riverbank Protection project comes to an end, Tweed Forum Project Officer, Joe Taylforth has been on site again to take some more aerial photographs. These clearly show the extent of the work undertaken and how the project has created new riverbanks from old.
Since the root wads were delivered and ready to be installed at Site 1 and the logs were sorted at Site 2, work on the Breamish Riverbank Stabilisation and Reinstatement project has continued on track – and now all the heavy work is completed.
The old, eroding riverbanks have been stabilised using so-called soft engineering techniques to reclaim some of the lost land and to protect them from further erosion that was threatening to damage the road.
