Rivers, streams, kennels, fords, springs, mill races all give significance to places, we remember where they are, and if not polluted, they usually greatly enhance our surroundings. The worst thing we can do to a river is to bury it in a drainpipe. This deprives us of the enchantment of a close relationship with running water and wild life, and irons out the richness of detail.

Springs are perhaps the most magical phenomena, and it is not surprising they were treated with reverence by our forbears. Where they bubble up through the sand into crystal clear water at the head of a stream is phenomenal.

In more domestic situations, fords or water-splashes are gradually being lost to bridges. Nearly a hundred fords were banished to underground culverts in Devon in the 15 years after 1949, and no doubt this has been replicated elsewhere. In cases where a dry crossing is vital, the best plans maintain the useable ford in parallel.

Bridges, and especially footbridges, where leaning over the parapet is safer, allow us to peer down into the other world of water, and to watch the fish shelter in the shade of the piers. Old bridges are at risk from heavier and heavier lorries and farm vehicles and parapets are constantly being damaged.

Ferrys, from the small punt pulled across the river by the ferryman pulling a rope to much larger craft that take you across the Mersey, or the car ferry to the Isle of Wight, help to slow us down and remind us what formidable barriers rivers and tidal waters can be. They help to accentuate the differences between one side and the other.

Water meadows, watercress beds, islands, reedbeds, stepping stones, weirs, sluices, sheepwashes, aqueducts, canals, locks, mills, warehouses are all part of the water scene. The richest places are those where old and current uses coexist.

The suburbanisation of rivers and streams is one of the most depressing things we can do. Canalising the banks, replacing natural profiles with concrete or metal, removing the bank side vegetation and wild flowers and replacing them with cultivated ones. One stretch of a chalk stream in Dorset has even had its bed concreted over.

What can we do?

Fight to keep your waterways natural and clean

Make sure your water authority does not abstract too much water from your river, ensuring enough flow to dilute pollutants

Access to at least one side of a river

Stand up for old bridges – campaign to keep heavy lorries from using them

Make a Parish Water Map

Make a Water Audit for your parish

Get a Parish Water Plan adopted by your Town Council

Form a Catchment Club

Join in the Naming Brook and Bridge Project

Help conserve riparian buildings and structures

Celebrate your waterways with festivals and Water Markets

Make your own compost to mulch your garden plants with after rain

Water your garden, wash your car with rain water from water butts or grey water collected from your house.

Visit our Rivers Pathway