The River of Life

The river plays a vital role in the life of the Teign valley. If you are a regular visitor to Fingle Woods you will have noticed how low the water levels have been during the last few months. In places, it has been possible to cross the river quite easily with a pair of wellies on or, in the summer, with flip flops and shorts. With the arrival of autumn, the weather has changed and the familiar spells of rain and Dartmoor drizzle are back, bringing the water level back up to something like the seasonal norm. This has been a signal for the migrating fish of the river to make their move upstream. They entered the river from their feeding grounds in the sea some time ago and are now swimming upstream to find their spawning grounds in the gravel beds. Now is the time to get out to the woods, follow the river to one of the weirs and wait... you may be lucky enough to see a leaping salmon.An earlier feature on this blog provided a few more ideas for things to see at this time of year. The deer rut may be over but there are still lots of interesting fungi to have a look for.If you have any interesting photos from around the woods, we would be happy to share them on this blog. Please email finglewoods@woodlandtrust.org.uk. Enjoy the autumn weather!by Matt Parkins