TESTING EXPERIENCE

Painted following a walk along the ‘Test Way’, along the course of a disused railway track beside the River Test, famous for the crystal clarity of its water and abundant trout. After a picnic in a glade filled with colourful plants and butterflies, we climbed to the summit of a local hill, where we were exposed to a local squall, with heavy rain, thunder and lightning. Later, in more tranquil weather, we came upon a river crossing thick with reeds and a curious thatched building on a platform above the river, with a line of tubular meshes, which I learned later were a fisherman’s hut and set of eel traps.