2026 Work In Progress
If you are interested in learning more, click here to book a guided river walk with Dr John Urquhart at West Stow Country Park
Summer on the river
More high winds have disrupted some willow limbs along the river. Joe Rudland has removed the parts in the river, whilst leaving some much needed cover for the fish.
The Norfolk reed has begun to die back, wilting inward and clogging up the main channel of the river. Joe has cleared a path through the reed, allowing good access.
Below is a collection of before and after pictures.
April and May
River work this time of year remains light to avoid disturbing nesting birds. As the trees pack on foliage through spring and summer they become more likely to fall during high winds. We need to remove these from the river as they’re usually willows, which are tenacious. They will continue to grow and root into the river bed and it’s not always ideal to have a tree growing in your river! Additionally they can disrupt river flow, which can lead to increased bank erosion threatening the West Stow Country Park footpath.
Here’s some work done by our river keeper Joe Rudland.
March
The small channel behind Trout Beck island had become overgrown, slowing the river flow and causing a lot of silt build up. Joe and Elly Rudland have cleared the channel, diverting some flow away from the eroding path at the Country Park
The cleared channel
