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The charity making life better by water

Meet Caroline, watching herons at Thrupp

Woman in a raincoat stands next to the canal, smiling at someone off camera as she points to the water.

They can stand so perfectly still, and for so long. If I see a heron I look at them and think, 'Is that a statue?' And then it moves. I just love walking up and down the canal and seeing the wildlife. I don't do it nearly as often as I would like, but I do come here whenever I can.

I've only lived near Thrupp and the canal for around six months, before that I wasn't so close to a canal. I think living near water adds a completely different dimension to walking. Walking by water is somehow calming, there's something special about it. It's really hard to put into words how walking the canal makes you feel and what the water does. It's probably not just difficult to put it into words, it's also tricky to know exactly what it is about being by water that makes it so special. Perhaps seeing the reflections of trees and foliage along the canalside is lovelier than the water itself. It's contemplative I think.

I'm on my way to Annie's tearoom which is on the canal just a short walk from where we are now. It's the other side of the lift bridge. Thrupp is a lovely place along the Oxford Canal. Because I only moved recently, I'm renting at the moment. The exciting thing this morning is that I've just finished sorting out buying a flat, so I thought I'd celebrate by going out and walking along the canal to have tea and cake at Annie's.

Caroline, Thrupp, Oxford Canal

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