Smells Like Teign Spirit

The inner Nirvana fan has been waiting for an excuse to use that title for a while now… and Saturday finally delivered.

Because if you’re going to do a walk along a river, there are a few non-negotiables. We need a good stretch of water, a bit of lively conversation, a few moments of quiet observation. And, of course… a pub at the end!

This outing, kindly organised by the Bovey Tracey group of the Devon Wildlife Trust, ticked all of those boxes in the form of a wander from Rushford Farm down to Fingle Bridge on the Fisherman’s path, following the river through (and I may be a little biased here) one of the most quietly impressive parts of the catchment.

Twenty people joined us. And I’m pleased to report… all twenty made it to the pub in one piece. What happened after that is, quite frankly, their own responsibility!

A big shout out to Devon Wildlife Trust’s Tom Morris for the photographs during the walk…

Lifting the Veil

The aim of these walks is fairly simple. Not to turn anyone into an overnight expert. Not to overwhelm with detail. But to gently lift the veil off the river and to help people see it a little differently. A stretch of water stops being ‘just a river’ and starts to become something far more interesting. Something you can read. Something you can question. Something you can begin to understand. And that’s where the conversation tends to start.

The one that got away was ‘This Big’…

Reading water & thinking fish

As we moved downstream, we stopped in likely spots and talked. About flow. About light and shade. About woody debris. About why some sections feel alive and others feel slightly less so.

Riffles became more than just broken water, they became oxygen engines, cleaning gravels and creating the conditions juvenile fish rely on. Pools became places of refuge. Glides became something to question when looking at flow and how it moves food for hungry trout. We stopped at patches of gravel and talked about spawning. What makes a redd site. Why a few millimetres of silt can make all the difference. We looked at banks, at trees, at where structure was helping the river… and where it might need a nudge.

Somewhere along the way, a shift happens - People stop looking at water… and start seeing a whole river ecosystem.

Even the weather behaved…

The bigger picture

We touched on the work of TACA, what we’ve been doing across the catchment, and what we’re planning for the future. The River Teign Restoration Project. Habitat work. Riverfly monitoring. The ongoing story of Atlantic salmon and the challenges they face.

Because while this stretch of the river might feel wild and untouched, it’s still part of a much bigger system. Pressures don’t arrive with a signpost. They morph almost silently through the entire catchment, sediment, temperature, barriers, flow, all shaping what a river can and can’t support.

But the flip side of that is equally important. And that’s where the awareness piece becomes powerful.

What made the day particularly enjoyable wasn’t just the river… it was, of course, the people. A group of curious, engaged, and genuinely interested individuals, asking good questions and taking the time to notice what was in front of them. This is always so encouraging to see.

Because the more people who understand how rivers function, the greater our chance of looking after them properly. And you don’t need to be a scientist or a lifelong angler to get there. You just need to spend a bit of time by the water… and be willing to look a little closer.

Wildlife was out in force, although the Dippers were being a little aloof…

Success (of sorts)

As mentioned earlier, all 20 participants successfully reached Fingle Bridge. Which, given the terrain, the distractions, and the occasional tendency to stop mid-stroll and stare at gravel for longer than might be considered entirely normal… feels like a result in itself. Whether they all made it home from the pub afterwards still remains unconfirmed :)

The Teign Spirit

I’d like to think that those who joined us left with something. A slightly different way of seeing things.

Things like an ability to read water just a little better. To think like a fish. To spot where invertebrates might thrive. To recognise what good habitat looks like and where it might be missing. Because that, in many ways, is what this is all about.

Not bold gestures. Not big statements. Just people, spending time on a river, beginning to understand it… and, perhaps, caring about it a little more as a result.

Maybe not quite what Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain had in mind, but to me at least, that’s the real Teign spirit!