Swarkestone Bridge in Derbyshire, a mile long and built of sandstone, is the longest stone bridge in the country and has a very chequered history. Bonnie Prince Charlie got no further than this 13th century ancient monument on his quest for the British throne, and local legend has it that ghostly sounds of horses galloping through the water can be still heard under its many arches in the dead of night. It also stopped me in my tracks on a crisp spring morning not that many years ago when a flash of pristine white, shining like untouched arctic snow caught my eye and I had my first glimpse of a Little Egret on home soil. Standing yesterday at the Oyster beds watching 5 of these delightful herons pick their way, like ballerinas en pointe, through the low tide mud still fills me with wonder. At this time with so many species in decline, it does your heart good to witness one of the few, though by default (global warming), success stories.
Driving back from Derbyshire along the M1 at the weekend (a road i'm sadly all too familiar with) I also saw another success story, the red kite - whilst a common sight on the M40, this was my first sighting of a pair gliding in their customarily effortless way along this particular stretch of the road - I wonder if one day I'll look up at the oyster beds and see these handsome birds sweep past, I do hope so.