Pete Kelly
TALES FROM UP NORTH
Sitting among the water mint, spearwort and forget-menot while wriggling into my trunks, I peer through the rushes and a smile comes to my face when I see my two new friends discovering the joys of swimming in one of my favourite tarns. The wild flowers I’m trying not to crush with my bum are giving off the smell I associate with this place and I’m glad to see the pair of great crested grebes diving around the margins by the lilies; both kinds, Nuphar lutea and Nymphaea alba are just starting to show us their best. The scene is so perfectly tranquil, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a Naiad popped her head up out of the water to pass the time of day.