Barnaby Bear in the River Valley

Barnaby Bear left the River Fowey further upstream, near a farm called Trezelland. We are now at the centre of the valley road, half way between Bolventor and a hamlet called Draynes. At Draynes, the river flows through Golitha Woods.

Before the valley road was here, the middle of the river was the boundary between farms on opposite sides of the valley. Here, the centre of the river marked the boundary between Higher Langdon Farm and Wimalford Farm.

Barnaby Bear is looking upstream, back towards where he came from. Can you see all the meanders in the river? The river's source is far back, way beyond the hill you can see in the background.

You will often find trees on river banks. Why do you think that is?

All along the valley road the riverbank is thick with ferns, trees and other plant life. How many different types of plants can you see here?

A little bit further downstream, Barnaby Bear found a bridge. The stone he is sitting on is inscribed with a message.

The inscription says who paid to have the bridge built in 1852.

	This is a view of the old bridge, taken from the new bridge. Look carefully at these photos - are both bridges built from the same material? How could you tell which bridge is oldest? There are two signs in this photo...
...this sign is a warning that the road is likely to flood. Click here to find out more about floods. That is one disadvantage of living close to a river. Sometimes the flood is so deep that only tractors can get through! The children who live in the valley don't mind though - when the road floods the school bus can't pick them up!

	To try stop the road from flooding, different kinds of drainage have been dug into the river bank. Some are pipes, and some are just channels cut into the bank.
Can you see the mud that has been deposited at this pipe?		A closer look shows that there are also twigs and other materials deposited around the pipe.
	There are severel places along the valley road like this. The river stays on the same side of the road, but there are several small tributaries and drainage channels that run underneath the road.

The drainage channels have been dug in by people, to try to drain some of the marsh land.

This is because most of this valley is farmland, but marsh isn't good for growing crops or keeping animals on. Although the drains aren't good for the marsh, or the natural life that lives here, it is good for the farmers. Click here to learn more about marsh land.

There are fences in the river, in some places down the valley. These fences have been put up recently - in the last few years

Do you think it is to keep things out or in? Who or what is it for?

The fences are a farmer's way of looking after the river and their animals at the same time. The animals need to drink from the river, but this can damage the river, by eroding the bank or knocking extra sediment in, and eventually alter it's natural course, or the way it behaves. The fences make sure that the animals can use the river, but only have access to parts of it, to stop too much damage from being done.
Click here for more about this.

This is another way that people are protecting the river and it's wildlife - the sign says that fishing is forbidden in this part of the river. This is because salmon are starting to spawn again in the river. This is a good sign of a healthy river. Since it has become cleaner, other wildlife like otters have started to use the river. Why do you think this is? (Hint - what do otters eat?!)

	The river makes this valley very popular with tourists. You often see people driving very slowly down the road, looking at the river. In places the bank is high and you can't see over it, but in other places, it is very low.
		All down the valley road, the river is very clean and healthy. There are lots of different types of fish living in the river. Salmon and trout live here, and sometimes, if you are very lucky, you might see an otter or a kingfisher!

	Near the end of the valley, there is car parking space, and a footpath that leads to Siblyback lake. The footpath leads directly to the lake " as the crow flies". The signpost shows how to get there in a car.
	The river crosses underneath the road here, and heads through more marsh-land, before it reaches the woods.

At the end of the valley road there is a gate with a good view of Golitha Woods.
The edge of the trees in the field follows the river. Why do you think having a river running through your field would be an advantage for the farmer?

In Golitha woods you will find the famous Golitha Falls.
Click on the picture to visit Golitha Falls with Barnaby Bear