There has been much talk this week about water and boulders, so it seems appropriate that on our last day we take a walk beside the river Gurgl, as it runs from Obergurgl down to Solden. When we start the day, at the little hamlet of Zwieselstein, it’s already running along at a fair clip, full of the sediment that turns it a milky grey.

Later in its journey, the Gurgl turns into a category 4 white-water rafting river, but no one tries to navigate these waters. For one thing, it’s full of enormous, house-sized boulders.

For me, rocks like this have a kind of personality, albeit one that’s developed slowly, over millennia. This path is full of them, each with their own community of plants.

And what a cool, green path this is on a hot, humid day. I don’t know of anything else like it around here.

There is one tiny spot of grey beach, and someone has built themselves a little tepee amongst the boulders.

From the cliffs on the opposite side of the river, I see a beetle-browed face looking out.

Can you see the face?

We climb up over a promontory, into an area where the sun breaks through

And then,  it’s down a hill, and back into ‘civilisation’.

The Rosebay willow-herb is in full flower, as perhaps it might be along the edges of Coldfall Wood.

And as we cross a bridge, the waters from another stream join the Gurgl – the waters run alongside one another for a while, brown against grey.

Here in Solden, they have a penchant for covered bridges. Some are traditional…

..and some are modern.

And, as the Gurgl runs fiercely down the valley, to meet up with the river Inn (from which Innsbruck got its name) and than the Danube, and, finally, the Black Sea, so I must say goodbye to this place, for this year at least. Our two weeks has gone just as quickly as the river has, but I have loved sharing them with you. And now, I feel the itch to be back in my own bed, with my own things around me, and to see what’s been going on in my half-mile territory. So, after the fun of flying back into Gatwick tomorrow and lumping all our luggage home to East Finchley, I look forward to reporting back with the Wednesday Weed on 22nd July.

Until then, thanks for your support!