Early morning trip.

Me and Sean decided to paddle from Ripon to Aldwark at 5.00 am. It was beautiful, and very peaceful. Lots of herons, kingfishers and a bizarre experience with a goose dissappearing under the water right in front of us. Very strange!
We also managed to see redshank, curlew and a possible (probable?) peregrine being harried by other birds at nicholson's lagoon.

The river Ure was like a mirror.

 Sean just ahead.

A break and portage around the weir at Boroughbridge.

Finally arived at Aldwark.

Tales from the riverbank.

With a brief interlude from the rain I decided to go and test the new kayak. I took a rod and a few lures and managed to catch a perch and a chub. The highlight of the day though was seeing an otter hunting. I watched it for a few moments as it dived down and came back up again. It seemed oblivious to me but disappeared with the appearance of a barge.
The attached video isn't terribly clear but you do see the otter come up and shake it's head. Considering it was filmed on a phone, it gives you an idea about how close I was.
Fantastic day!

Aldwark to Ripon

I spent the friday padding from Aldwark to Ripon, about 14 miles. It was not the warmest of days, but I had a great time. I saw lots of herons, and watched one hunting, had my best ever view of a kingfisher (about 15 feet away - I suspect it was a youngster), and saw an egret, which is a first for me (other than down south and abroad). I trolled a lure all the way and caught 6 pike and 6 perch, which was fun, and also found these suspected mink tracks, just downstream of hewick bridge.

Byland Abbey

I picked up my paints and went out to Byland Abbey yesterday...with mixed results. This is the first time that I have painted for a few weeks, so I'm a bit rusty. It was a murky humid day. Not exactly ideal lighting conditions. I met some lovely nuns and a couple taking photos for their flickr site.

Paddling

Saturday was a beautiful calm evening, so me and Seth took the boats out again. It was mirror-like on the water. We managed 3 perch and a pike between, losing 2 fish in the process, and had a great time.

Kayaking

Whilst Seth is off doing teenage stuff with his pals, me and Archie go out on the Kayaks. This is Archie's first attempt at fishing for pike. I catch 2 and a perch whilst Archie has to look on. I ended the day gutted though because he spotted an otter. He actually got quite close. Obviously  9 year old boys can exaggerate, so, without wishing to doubt him, I paddled over to have a look at the spot where he had seen them, and.....there on the  river bank, under some trees, were fresh otter prints. well done Archie.
Gutted.
The following day, with Seth still off carousing, we went out again. This time Archie caught 2 pike and a perch. No otters, but we did see a peregrine (99.9% sure) being harried by other birds. We also saw lots of herons, oyster catchers, lapwings and a cormorant. We also saw a man sun bathing naked. Yeah, you grab your towel, quick sharp.... you daft sod!

Otter tracks?

We spent our first day of the holiday with Mark Adrienne and Joey on a bike ride to Linton Lock. Are these otter tracks? They certainly look like it.