This week our selected stories are a varied bunch on the loose theme of rivers.
The Helford River is one of the most unspoilt regions in Cornwall. It is a flooded river valley, fed by streams into its seven creeks. These creeks include Frenchman's Creek, made famous by Daphne du Maurier in her novel of the same name.
The wild otter species found in Britain is now making a remarkable comeback, after suffering catastrophic declines in the 1950s and 1960s due to the combined effects of water pollution, habitat destruction and persecution. Otters are often elusive, with large ranges and largely nocturnal behaviour, making spotting them a rare and delightful experience.
A kelpie is a malevolent shape-changing aquatic spirit of Scottish legend. They are fresh water monsters, said to haunt rivers and streams, usually in the shape of a horse.
The urbanisation of London has meant that many original features of the landscape have been lost - with street names often the only reminder of their previous existence. One of these is the river Fleet, the largest of London’s lost subterranean rivers, which gave its name to the original home of the newspaper industry, Fleet Street.
The kingfisher is one of Britain's most delightful and colourful native birds. When seen unexpectedly, it is usually as a sudden and stunning dart of jewelled blue diving into a river. The RSPB has estimated that there are between 4,800 and 8,000 breeding pairs thinly, but widely, spread across the UK. Their scarcity mean kingfishers are protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
The Severn bore is a rare tidal phenomeon that provides a remarkable regular demonstration of natural water power along a 21-mile stretch of the river from Awre near Stroud to Maisemore Weir, just beyond Gloucester. It occurs when the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave that travels against the direction of the River's current.
