So how did we spend World Rivers Day on the Wandle?
While the official launch of the Wandle Landscape Partnership’s HLF projects kicked off in Morden Hall Park, the Wandle Piscators made a splash on the Wandle at Merton Abbey Mills with our very own angling event.
Will talked about Riverfly monitoring and launched the Wandle Young Piscators’ HLF programme, Jim demonstrated his famous woven nymphs, and Steve showed us how to make floats that frankly looked good enough to eat.
Our good friends Charles Rangeley-Wilson and Dom Garnett both drove hundreds of miles to join us for the day – signing their best-selling books and answering detailed questions from readers and aspiring fellow writers alike.
Chris Reeve and Caroline Emmet also inspired the fly tying fraternity with the professionalism of the Fly Dressers’ Guild roadshow, while Alex Titov and Matt Holden wowed the crowds with AAPGAI-level tournament trick casting, and Jez brewed up a range of fly-dyeing potions in someone’s old hostess trolley (and promises to sell the results via our Members’ Forum… watch this space!)
Many thanks to everyone who gave their time so generously and came to celebrate World Rivers Day again with us this year!
Photos: thanks to Jim Dillon, John Stephens and Steve Dedman