A-Z 2018 - British Rivers 'G': River Gwash

This short river (only 24 miles) is one I remember with affection. A tributary, it runs through Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire until it enters the Welland beyond Stamford.

River Gwash just east of Empingham

In the early 1950s I worked on this river helping to keep it clear and to relocate coarse fish (caught by stunning them with electric prods) to encourage the trout. These days it is a river well known with anglers for its trout fishing.

At 'work' in rubber waders

In 1975 the Gwash was dammed to help create the Anglian Water reservoir known as Rutland Water.

Where the River Quash enters Rutland Water

The Gwash's flow is controlled as it exits the reservoir and remains the picturesque river I remember.

River Gwash looking towards Ryhall from a footbridge at Belmesthorpe

In my day we would have had to clean that out!

Photo attributions:

• River Gwash east of Empingham: 22 April 2007, ex geograph.org.uk, by Graham Horn - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence.
• Rutland Water (where the Gwash enters): 29 April 2006, ex geograph.org,uk, by Kate Jewell - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence
• River Gwash towards Ryhall: 28 July 2008, ex geograph.org.uk, by R Croft - CC BY-SA 2.0 licence.

A-Z Challenge 2017 - Houses, some real, some not - 'T'

T - Tolethorpe Hall

Tolethorpe Hall, Little Casterton, Rutland
(By Dave Crosby - 22 June 2013 - CC BY-SA 3.0)

This is the venue of the Rutland Open Air Theatre, the 'home' of the Stamford Shakespeare Company.

This June they will be performing 'A Midsummer's Night Dream' and 'Much Ado About Nothing'.

The first manor house on the site was built by the Norman de Tolethorpe family in the 11th century The setting of the hall overlooks parkland with the River Gwash running near by.

I cannot say that I have ever visited the hall, but before we left the area in the early 1960s I had helped to clean out the Gwash further upstream. I also played cricket against the Tolethorpe Park team.

The Stamford Shakespeare Company acquired the then near derelict hall in 1977. I'll confess that we have also never been fortunate enough to attend any of their performances.

For more details of this year's programme visit http://stamfordshakespeare.co.uk/ and don't forget to book dinner in Tolethorpe Hall itself.