The River Colne follows the Ebury Way out of Trentford, feeding the Grand Union Canal on its journey. Never sounding more than two feet at its deepest as it meanders lazily through the district, as the intersection of so many points of the region's praeternatural topography, the river has nevertheless given rise to many curious tales regarding what lurks around its banks and within its waters: of writhing, oblong shapes seen swimming in the darkness; of strange faces staring evilly out of the waters at unsuspecting ramblers; of webbed hands - and worse - reaching up from the shallows to grasp at the ankles of passers-by; of casual wayfarers dragged suddenly and unexpectedly into the watercourse whose bodies are never recovered; of scaly, horse-like heads seen rising slowly from the river, surmounted on long, sinuous necks...
None of these tales could possibly have any substance too them, as the river is too narrow and to shallow to support such a diverse and monstrous bestiary; nonetheless, One would be hard pressed to find a resident of Horsingdon, Northwich or Trentford willing to spend a day fishing from the banks of this otherwise calm and sedately-flowing rivulet.
No comments:
Post a Comment