Nether Bridge, Kendal

I had decided not to post anything today...and then I changed my mind.

It was a grey day as I drove to Kendal this morning, the estuary at Sandside was a uniform brown colour, not its most appealing aspect. I was taking the old Volvo to Fred's in Kendal for its roaring exhaust to be silenced. I walked back to work, in part by the side of the river, and this was the only daylight opportunity to take a photograph.

So this is the Nether Bridge across the Kent. This is one of the older bridges in Kendal dating in part from the 17th century. It has been widened twice since then: in 1772 and again in the 1908. If viewed large, it may be just possible to see the three bands of stonework inside the span. The newest part of the bridge is the nearest, upstream section.

The River Kent is a flashy river whose three main tributaries (Kent, Mint and Sprint) rise in the Lake District's south eastern fells. This is one of the last river's in England with a population of our native white-clawed crayfish. In so many rivers eleswhere it has been lost as the larger American signal crayfish has become established bringing with it crayfish plague which is fatal to our native species. In large part because of the abundance of the white-claws, the river is designated as both a Site of Special Scientific Interest under national legislation, and as a Special Area of Conservation under European law.

As I took this photo, the typical birds of this river were evident: dippers, grey wagtails and goosanders. Better start saving for a telephoto lens.

It was raining and getting dark as I walked back to Fred's in the late afternoon. But now the Volvo purrs....well, relatively.

Have a good weekend, everyone.