IP9 - The Shallows
This area of the riverside is wooded, with an abundance of tree species. Behind the big ash tree you can see wych elm and alder. Sycamores are also present, with willows closer to the river. Beyond here, downstream, butterbur (Petasites hybridus) is abundant. It has enormous leaves in summer. It produces obvious pink flowers arranged in large spikes, in April, before the leaves develop. This makes the plant a valuable food source for bees early in the summer.
Link to Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, pages on plant identification.
At times when the river here is shallow enough for the rocks in the middle to break the surface of the water, you can see dippers feeding. This is a dark brown bird with a white chest, slightly smaller than a blackbird, which walks into and under the water in search of aquatic invertebrates