Water, water everywhere...

Just a 15-20-minute drive from where we live is the beautiful little town of Bradford-on-Avon, which, as you may have gathered from its name, is on the river Avon. A stone's throw away from the river lies the canal, which runs from the Severn Estuary in Bristol to The Thames near Reading. The 200-year-old canal has more than 100 locks (!) and was, in 'olden times', used for transport.

If you stroll along the canal, which here runs parallel to the river, you soon come to Avoncliff, where you will see this old stone bridge over the river (you may spot it behind the weeping willow in the first photo above, and in the one below I have played a little with the photo on the computer, as the colours were a little  dull...).

But what do you think you might find on top of this bridge...?

Yes, the canal! This stunning aqueduct really "did my head in" the first time I saw it, water going over the bridge over ... the water (and railway)! It is a beautiful area to go for walks, and many people take advantage of this lovely setting to go canoeing on the canal, or rent canal boats. 

My family did not quite understand why I would want to take a photo of this old military "bunker" by the canal, but I thought the colours and the water reflection in this image made it a potential motif...

Many are the old stone bridges over the canal...

... and last summer we explored them a little more closely, when we rented a canoe and ventured out on a paddling expedition. (Image above and the two images below taken then.) As we pulled up close to the side of the canal to eat our paddling picnic sandwiches, a house boat went past us. There are many of these lining the canal, and many of them boast quite spectacular "gardens" on the roof of the boat (not the one above, though).

With young arms in charge of the paddles, this is a perfect place to perfect 

steering and paddling skills, as there are no waves to negotiate.

  

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Featured in Wiltshire Magazine

For those of you who happen to come across the regional magazine Wiltshire Magazine (link to the magazine website, but I don't think you can actually read any articles there), you may see a familiar face on a few pages there in the April/May issue. A "Through the Keyhole" feature from our home and a page with my offering ideas and photos of how to "bring nature inside" when decorating our homes.

I feel very honoured they asked me to provide ideas, photos and 

texts for their magazine - thank you Kate and Alex!

All the best,

Helena