River Waveney Scole to Harleston
Hello Folks
After our trip on the Thet and Little Ouse, Andrew and I camped at The Willows Caravan and Camping Park in Scole.
The Great thing about the site is that it is located adjacent to the River Waveney. If you like you can camp on the banks of the river and we did this on the first night but as it began to rain heavily we decamped and moved to a higher field on the advice of the owner and residents which turned out to be a good decision as you can see from the pictures. The first one shows the area where our tents used to be the next day after heavy rain and the second shows where we moved them to after to-days trip.
Before setting off there was the small matter of a shuttle to organise and for this trip it is relatively simple one to a lay by near Harleston. We took both cars and returned leaving one there for our later return journey.
It was raining a with grey skies as we set off and followed some swans along the meandering river.
Andrew mentioned how the river was a lot lower the last time he paddled it and we were being treated to a better view of the surrounding countryside as a result of the rainfall.
This does of course mean that any overhanging obstacles and the arches of bridges are lower!
It also meant we could pass over this sluice with ease and a duck of the head.
As we paddled on cows stopped chewing grass to watch us floating by. I don't know why but they always do tend to watch canoeists with interest.I think these are Guernseys.
This part of the country is full of examples of old brickwork and I suppose I notice this more as when I paddle the Nene the old buildings are more often built of stone. I am not sure of the function of this chimney but it is a nice example.
The churches in this area also come in many different sometimes unusual forms.
Despite the water being brown with the run off due to the high rainfall it was still great to paddle on and it felt otherworldly with the trees reaching down into it. At times it was tricky to see where the banks of the river were supposed to be so it was important to keep to the middle to avoid unexpected obstacles underwater.
I took this picture of the tree only to find one of many damselflies on it later.
Next we passed this mill covered in greenery.
and some more cows which I have now checked are jerseys (I remarked to Andrew at the time that they were probably Jerseys or Guernseys).
Before long we were soon at the get out.
The rain was speeding our progress and it meant we had time to get back to our site and move our tents before the water rose in the camp site as I mentioned earlier.
Cheers
Alick