Tamar - A Glittering Continuity DVD
Tamar - A Glittering Continuity
presented on DVD by Craig Rich
It is said that the weather hasn’t been the same since Craig Rich retired from weather forecasting. True to form, he has forecast the best days to go filming, consequently this is a sunshine production under a mantle of blue skies. The two and a half hour DVD consists of 20 chapters telling different stories about the Tamar. Craig takes us up the river following the salmon who have returned from the Atlantic to spawn in the upper reaches of the Tamar. On the way he looks at places of historical interest and wildlife on the river that people rarely see.
Salmon conservation is at the heart of four stories and covers the 2004 net buyout, the Environment Agency’s work on the Tamar, fly fishing and the salmon spawning. There are two other wildlife stories - eel fishing and estuary birds. The eel fishing is compulsive viewing with its waterside commentary and kissing ritual. There is rare footage of spoonbills which only arrived on the Tamar in 2008. Spoonbills are notoriously difficult to approach and this makes the footage all the more remarkable.
Five of the famous bridges named by Brenda Wotton in her rendering of Crossing the Tamar get special attention as Craig visits places of historical interest. There’s also Pentillie Castle, the Silver Mines on the Bere peninsula, and look out for the oldest domestic clock in England at the amazing Cotehele Tudor mansion.
Calstock and Morwellham set the scene for a serious study of what was the industrial Tamar Valley.
At Greystone bridge and Horsebridge, Craig tells how the medieval bridge builders gave their labour for free in exchange for an “indulgence” given by the Church. They believed this would ease their way into heaven. Polson bridge of great renown is where the Black Prince, the first Duke of Cornwall, and his successors received their feudal dues. This leads to an entertaining examination of the feudal dues held in Launceston as Craig tries to work out what they are what they are used for.
Dave Pilkington, a professional instructor takes us through the art of fly fishing for salmon in the context of salmon conservation and the salmon story comes to its conclusion with underwater footage of the hen salmon making her nest followed by the salmon spawning.
Locally born and bred, Craig Rich is the perfect lead presenter for this programme. which comes as a boxed set of two DVD’s and at 2hrs 26mins is great value selling at £12.99.
It can be purchased on a number of web sites, just type the keywords into Google. Alternately there are retailers at Saltash, Callington, Launceston, Gunnislake, Bere Alston, Tavistock, Elburton, Waterstones in Plymouth and Waterstones in Truro.
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