Bridge over the River Wey, Guildford
Bridge over the River Wey. Reflections and bright light in still water on a Spring morning. Acrylics and coloured pencil on paper 41 x 31 cm.
£250.00
River Wey navigation
Bridge over the River Wey is – forgive me – a poor joke. The river is properly called the Wey navigation, and this bridge (I couldn’t find a name for it) is close to Guildford. You pass a WWII pillbox on the walk to Godalming – one of the remnants of the fortifications built in 1940 as a defence against German invasion. As far as I know, that is the only wartime feature of the navigation.
Towards the Godalming end of my visit, a fellow walker greeted me. He was excited to be there again – the first time, he said, since he was a boy. ‘It’s so beautiful’ he sighed, grinning at me with a mouth full of teeth like old tombstones. Indeed it is. But at the locks, I saw swirls of raw sewage on top of the water.
Life on the River Wey
During the entire course of my walk, I saw no water birds beyond a few mallards. I have long given up hope of seeing a kingfisher. Ironically, the last kingfisher I saw was on the Blackwater in Aldershot, an even more compromised stretch of water. The absence of life bothered me deeply.
Even insects seemed few and far between. I passed any number of Garlic Mustard plants (I do prefer the names Hedge Garlic or Jack-by-the-Hedge) but there wasn’t a single Orange Tip butterfly to be seen. When I had nearly reached Godalming, I saw my first, and then (to my great relief) there were dozens.
If you like this painting, you might also enjoy this view of Portsmouth from Hayling Island, or this one of Emsworth Harbour.
