Country diary: An eel that's as fluid as the river itself | Charlie Elder

Tavistock, Devon: This slippery individual seems content behind the town launderette but, one day, the wide Sargasso Sea will beckonBehind the pannier market in Tavistock, one can take a break from shopping and peer over the riverside wall to view the River Tavy. The rain-fed flow that rises on Dartmoor is as unpredictable as the weather and prone to seasonal mood swings. After heavy downpours the river will race by in a rage. But this dry summer has left it lean and listless today, in little hurry to reach the sea, dawdling through rocky gullies and unwinding in languid glides.Low water and bright sunlight mean that trout are clearly visible in a shallow pool. Beneath them I notice what at first resembles a half-metre section of discarded cable - until it moves, snaking over the stony riverbed in front of me: an eel. Continue reading...