The local swan family had 9 cygnets a month ago.
There were still 9 cygnets yesterday when we walked down the same waterway in Abingdon.
Downstream from Abingdon Lock, a new sand bank has been created from silt. The Canada Geese go there to stand and preen and that shows how shallow the water is over that area. There are buoys to warn boats but the area does not get dredged.
When I moved to Abingdon some 40 years ago the river was regularly dredged. For the past 20 odd years I have never seen a dredger on the river. Some people have blamed the E U and said that their interference has caused flooding. While the European Commission has said that dredging is not banned by EU legislation, in effect member states are prohibited from undertaking dredging if it disturbs certain habitats which can then lead to a breach of the EU Water Framework Directive.
40 years ago you could fish in the backwater. Now you can nearly walk across it without getting your feet wet.
How long ago did we leave the EU? 31 January 2020. We can’t blame the EU for our departure or for the UK government’s inaction on (among other things) the care of our natural environment over the past four years.
We have our chance to comment on 4 July…
I think possibly news of Brexit has not reached Abingdon yet.
We know about it, we just don’t believe it 😉
I don’t speak for all Abingdon – never have….
Some Abingdonians are still more concerned about Berksit.