hungerford in autumn

UK Travel
Written By Kate Sims
A red and cream coloured houseboat named Rubyrose moored in a canel with a white bridge behind it. A red fox lab walks up the footpath on the bank, which is covered in browning leaves falling from the trees above.
A white swan and a mallard duck swim in a canal with a red brick bridge behind them, overstretching the water.
A small river flowering through a protected nature habitat with lots of tall grasses and trees growing along the banks. Trees awash in their autumn best are in the background.
A red fox lab looks straight-on at the camera with its mouth open. It stands on a footpath with a dusting of orange autumn leaves. Behind him is a white bridge that stretches over a canal.
A blue houseboat moored alongside a canal. A footpath covered in autumn leaves is in the foreground and the opposite bank is wooded.

A few snapshots from our trip to Hungerford this past weekend. Though I still maintain the habit of carrying my camera with me most places, I’ve been absolutely rubbish at taking photos for myself these past few years. But I’m trying to train my eye to get back into the habit of seeing.

I’m slowly working my way through Braiding Sweetgrass, taking my time with every chapter to absorb the wisdom and lessons. In it, Robin Wall Kimmerer recounts how she revitalised the pond behind her house in upstate NY, explains how much graft and care she took in nurturing the habitat back to life. “Everybody lives downstream,” she writes, “the water net connects us all.”

It’s incredible to think about how much work goes into making sure all these spaces that we share are ecologically balanced, safe for wildlife and humans alike, and protected. We’re very lucky here in the UK to have so much of our countryside open and accessible, and I’m thankful to everyone upstream who makes sure that these spaces stay healthy and sacred.

Kate Sims
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