"Spring buds burst to bloom, and the river carries their song of life." (Jayita Bhattacharjee)
Blackwater Valley Path
The Blackwater Valley Path has been on my walking horizon for some time and, with travel still not back to normal - Covid 19 still circulating, albeit at low numbers - now seems to be a good time to walk this fairly local trail.
The river's source is located in Rowhill Copse Nature Reserve, Aldershot, and from here it meanders first eastwards and then in a northerly direction alongside the densely populated commuter towns of Aldershot, Farnborough, Frimley, Blackwater and Sandhurst. After that it continues in a more westerly direction as it flows through a more rural landscape of meadows and flooded gravel extraction lakes towards its confluence first with the river Whitewater (to become the Broadwater) and then the river Loddon at Swallowfield, near Reading. The Loddon's journey ends in Wargrave (between Henley and Reading) where it joins the Thames.
The river's source is located in Rowhill Copse Nature Reserve, Aldershot, and from here it meanders first eastwards and then in a northerly direction alongside the densely populated commuter towns of Aldershot, Farnborough, Frimley, Blackwater and Sandhurst. After that it continues in a more westerly direction as it flows through a more rural landscape of meadows and flooded gravel extraction lakes towards its confluence first with the river Whitewater (to become the Broadwater) and then the river Loddon at Swallowfield, near Reading. The Loddon's journey ends in Wargrave (between Henley and Reading) where it joins the Thames.