Milford in October

We'd a couple of 3 hour trips to Milford this month. The most recent being yesterday. Its a fantastic time of the year to be on the water. All the trees have taken on their autumnal colours and the river is slow and lazy as it waits for the first flood of winter. The river bank is less active with fewer people taking to the towpath. This allows nature and the grassy bank wildlife to be a little braver. On our trip we saw several kingfishers, one otter, two egrets, a host of swans and mallard, a buzzard, a kestrel and numerous reed buntings. Down at Milford itself,  while the passengers went exploring on foot, I did a little exploring myself. Under the Mill bridge, I spotted a number of brown trout resting in the eddy's behind large boulders. It was great to see as it had been reported to me several times from local anglers that they were concerned for the number of trout in the river. From under the bridge also, the river takes of a golden hue, as its tunneled southward reflecting the beach and ash leaves of autumn. Pure bliss. Milford is one of my favourite places in Carlow. Its a magical part of the river.