Walking beside the Mill Stream, which flows from the weir near the Abbey Grounds, I spotted a swan family.
There was also a parent moorhen with two young. They have grown a lot since the last time I saw them. There is so much undergrowth on the river that the others may or may not have been about.
I also saw what looked like a small fire and thought somebody was camping.
A heron was waiting for fish at the weir. The weir walkway is still closed because of safety concerns.
On the way back, I saw the fire had grown much larger. A couple had stopped to watch, and on the far bank, three or four people were actively gathering wood and throwing it onto the flames. The surrounding vegetation was dry and looked ready to catch fire, posing a real risk to nearby trees and wildlife.
We shouted at them to stop, but they ignored us and carried on. The lady called the emergency services, and we made our way around via the bridge to try to locate the fire. It was clearly visible from the Snakes and Ladders car park, and was still burning between Protyre and the Mill Stream — but access was blocked by a fence.
As we reached the fence, the people responsible ran off, and then the fire brigade arrived. The firefighters knew of another way in and drove round to reach the fire from there.
