The river under the viaduct at Capel's Mill

Having awoken at about 5-30am this morning, I decided I wouldn't feel like getting up at 8am to go to watch a steam train pass over the viaduct I blipped yesterday. Instead Woodpeckers brought me tea in bed, and we heard the engine whistling as it crossed the pedestrian crossings at the end of our valley, and thought that that would have been a regular sound here until the 1960s.

Eileen arrived soon after 9am for coffee and waffles on her way to b]pick up her daughter Kirsty from a sleepover just up the hill from our house. It was great to see her as she hasn't visited for some months. Talk turned to a projected walk of the Cotswold Way next year, to celebrate Woodpeckers' and her big anniversary. I won't be joining them, they will be pleased to hear, but I may act as a support crew and join them at odd moments of the 120 mile or so walk.

By 10-30am we were all on our separate ways. I drove Woodpeckers down to the Capel's Mill Canal open day, which I blipped yesterday. There was a two hour period until midday when anyone was welcome to walk along the floor of the newly constructed canal cut under the viaduct. It was even busier today than yesterday, and we saw a few friends and acquaintances. We both wanted to also go on the canal footpath which leads down to the old footbridge over the River Frome and across to Rodborough Fields and along the river valley.

I took this picture from the footbridge looking westwards. You can just see Woodpeckers sitting on the old stone remains of Capel's Mill which was a very old industrial site way before the canal and the railway arrived here. At the top right some other walkers are coming down the recently established path from the new towpath, which is just above where they are walking. It shows you how high the new level of the canal is, and how difficult the engineering has been (I did try to explain about that yesterday).

The footbridge I am standing on is only about ten yards from the wall of the canal where it passes under the viaduct, which you can see in yesterday's picture. The colours in the valley here were beautiful despite there being no sun and intermittent rain. As I approached the bridge a man pointed out a Dipper to me sitting on the collection of branches in the river, but it flew away before I could photograph it. After I had taken this picture, a couple spoke to me as I stood on the bridge and asked if I had seen the kingfisher. I said I hadn't, but just as I spoke, I saw a flash of the iridescent blue of a kingfisher flying away down the valley above the fast flowing water. I shall have to come back with a tripod for a bit of nature photography, when there are fewer people around. But I was glad that today's massive attendance to admire the new canal showed how positive local people are towards the canal's rebirth.

I have marked the Blip location, where you can see the route of the original canal, and its relationship to the river, the railway and the road.

Woodpeckers has blipped a composite shot of children playing earlier in our walk, in the actual canal bed. Hasn't she done well, celebrating her 300th blip yesterday!