Tag Archives: sea

How many square miles?

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I do not know the area of land over which I have and will walk along the Derwent River.  And I do not care to find a definitive answer. That’s the sort of fact which doesn’t interest me.

However, I am fascinated to learn that there are 196,939,900 square miles of Earth to explore. So I made a slippery calculation – and determined there is less than 30 square miles per person on our planet.  Take out the area of deserts, and the too high mountains, and the number drops lower. The world’s population is growing rapidly so I strongly recommend you get out and walk your local beaches, parks, bushland, or sail the rivers and seas.  Enjoy these outdoor spaces while you can.

Almost two years ago I visited Hong Kong and walked the city streets with millions of locals in what was claimed to be the most densely populated suburb on earth. But even Hong Kong has thousands of acres of amazing parks, beaches and nature reserves all of which have walking trails in or around them.  All you have to do is to find your special natural places whether they are located in rural or urban areas.

From the sea to the source; stories of a river on the other side of the globe

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Two years ago, Helen Ivison published River Derwent: From Sea to Source (Amberley Publishing).

 Ivison River Derwent

 The promotional puff declares this book ‘brings to light tales and stories of fascinating events, landmarks and people. River Derwent: From Sea to Source is essential reading for anyone who knows this river well, and also for those who are visiting the River Derwent for the first time.’  But what is the author referring to?

Hers is the Derwent River in the Cumbrian region of England which flows from the mountainous Lakes District in two strands, one of which starts near Styhead Tarn. The two strands meet at Grains Gill, and continue in a north easterly direction as a single river towards an expanse known as Derwent Water. The river passes through this ‘lake’ then eases into a north westerly direction across country before flowing onwards through Bassenthwaite Lake. Finally, the English Derwent River turns westwards and empties into the Irish Sea.

By contrast Tasmania’s Derwent River flows generally in a south easterly direction from Lake St Clair, through steep narrow gorges, curving around farmlands, before passing between the two sides of the Greater Hobart Area into Storm Bay. The man-made lakes of Lake King William, Wayatinah Lagoon, Lake Catagunya, Lake Repulse, Cluny Lagoon and Meadowbank Lake all disrupt the progress of the River. These lakes have resulted from dam building as part of hydro-electricity generating projects over the past century.