Stage 12: Boothferry to Saltmarshe

Setting off from Boothferry, Wednesday 16th March 2022

It was great to be back at Boothferry bridge gazing into the silvery grey mist hanging over the River Ouse on what we knew would be a wet day.

We thought that a train line along the river would make this leg easy. But there is only one train every two hours and the area is sparsely populated with no other public transport and no-one walking.

We saw two people and a boat all day. In fact we saw more deer than people, we startled group of three and later another one made a spectacular sprint across a ploughed field in front of us. No other animals apart from a small flock of sheep and lambs. We spent the first half of the walk cursing the moles that produced the thousands of mole hills that made progress bumpy. But we regretted our bad wishes when we found a dismembered mole and a mole skeleton. We dedicate today's walk to moles and their important work.

We walked under a vast viaduct carrying traffic on the M62. No graffiti here, no young people pass by.

When we started walking, the river was low with muddy banks but as time passed it got more and more full with the incoming tide racing upstream. It was a strange experience to be walking against the flow of water for the first time.

It was a magical mimsy day, smoky mist hanging over the fields to our left and merging with the river to our right. The weather took its toll as you can see. But tomorrow will be dry and we are in good spirits.