Saltholme

Following our three-village walk, Jeremy and Tim ventured out with our Rotarian host, John, to the Saltholme Wildlife Reserve and Discovery Park. John is a member of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and involved in the development of this attraction for both wildlife and human visitors. It was surreal to walk along in this Tees River valley surrounded by heavy industrial neighbors - chemical, oil, nuclear, landfill, shipping, scrapyard - and see wetland birds seemingly at home in a man-made/reclaimed aquatic oasis. Grebes, swans, geese, ducks, terns - even a few rabbits - were there before the many monocular-toting visitors.