One of our favourite walks is from the caravan, down the lane to Bowston Bridge and the River Kent. We walk along the river to Staveley, where it would be rude not to call in for a pint, and then home across the fields, hopefully to sit outside the van in the sun with a cup of tea (or some vital rehydration of another type). Wandering down the green lane into the valley we hoped to see the swallows that regularly nest in the farm buildings but sadly we were too early; similarly with the house martins in Bowston village. We did, however, enjoy seeing our first grey wagtails of the year on the river and during the walk we found three pairs of nesting dippers feeding chicks. At Beckmickle Ing Bridge were the first dipper pair; regularly returning to perch on the same rocks with beaks full of food. They were very confiding birds and not phased by people walking along the path or over the bridge or even dogs running into the water. I was, therefore, able to sit quietly for a while and photograph them. We chose for our picnic spot a grassy bank where we could sit amongst the wild daffodils or Lent Lillies. Arriving in Stavely we enjoyed a pint in the riverside beer garden of the very fine Eagle and Child. There was another pair of dippers feeding chicks here in the slate wall of the river embankment. A refreshing pint while watching dippers feeding chicks - what's not to enjoy!! Fortified from our refreshments we made our way back to the van across the fields where we sat outside to enjoy our BBQ. All told we saw 23 bird species, 19 plants as well as peacock and orangetip butterflies.
