The muddy Severn

The Severn is always cloudy by comparison with, say, a chalk stream, or the peaty waters of a highland glen, but at present they’re muddier than usual – must be all the rain… Speaking of which, it was supposed to rain all day, but we found a likely dry spell in the forecast, and enjoyed this short walk from Bedlam furnaces (car parking) up and over the hill to Coalbrookdale, and back through Ironbridge. On the riverbank is the shed where (we remember him well) Eustace Rogers used to build his coracles. Sadly ‘Eusti’ was the last of his line, and the shed is now a tiny museum, which can only be visited by peering through the glass window. Just below the world-famous Iron Bridge, here’s another fascinating little bit of history on an altogether more human scale.

Tributes paid to coracle man BBC News 10 February 2003