Petrichor

At last, we had some overnight rain on Monday - proper rain, not just a few spots. (And more since then too.)  It's been a good two months since we had any meaningful precipitation and our river levels are very low. I happened to wake relatively early (for me) on Tuesday so I decided I'd go to Bolton Abbey for a walk in the woods. The estate gets busy in the school holidays so I tend not to visit but I knew I could be there before most of the crowds and, indeed, there were only about 30 cars in the riverside car park when I arrived. (Many more by the time I left!) 

It was delicious to walk in the cool, moist atmosphere, breathing in the pleasant, earthy scent of rain on dry ground. It was overcast and somehow mysterious in the forest, as though nothing could quite work out what was happening. What is this dampness?  

There are some very big trees down and tree branches scattered throughout the woods. I suspect that will continue as the trees have been so stressed this year and it weakens them. How the mighty are fallen... 

It's also quite plain that autumn is arriving early, with leaves already turning colour. 

Occasionally I came across a leaf that had fallen quite artistically, a bright jewel against the damp earth. 

The River Wharfe, normally rushing through the Strid Gorge, was just a gentle trickle, hardly moving. The low water level revealed water-worn rocks that you don't normally see, and a tantalising glimpse into the abyss of this famous stretch of the river, a narrow strait reputedly up to 9m (30 ft) deep and only 2m (6.5 ft) wide, with dangerous currents and hidden underwater caves. It's as though the river turns itself sideways to squeeze through the narrow fissure in the rocks. The falls a little upstream always create a line of foam, like a skein of lace in the middle of the river. 

I often spot peculiar creatures in the fallen branches; a couple of bird-like, beaky things here:  

Finally, a view I don't often take - but it does show the end of the big riverside car park, the Cavendish Pavilion (where I treated myself to a cappuccino and my favourite cherry Bakewell tart) and the wooden bridge that crosses the river at this point.