Tillingbourne Riverfly Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

We have registered two sites on the River Tillingbourne with the Environment Agency, both within Albury Park near Shere village. These have been selected on the basis of having different habitats. During the fishing season (April to September) they are stocked with brown trout (triploids) but occasionally anglers catch smaller wild 'brownies' that have naturally bred in the river.

Upper Beat (TQ 06872 47682) is at the very top-end of our fishable stretch of river. Until recently it has been surrounded by trees and rather shaded. There has been very little bank-side vegetation and virtually no weed growth. For the most part the river-bed has been very silted-up although at the very top there is a small weir which has created a few small patches of clear sandy gravel. During the second half of the 2007 season a large number of trees were felled, allowing more light penetration. It is too early to tell what effect this has had on the invertebrate population. Access for monitoring has been rather difficult but this is likely to improve considerably during 2008.

Upper Beat on a cold winter's day

Middle Beat (TQ 06524 47771) is very different, with lots of bank-side vegetation. Most of the time the water is quite shallow and clear. After heavy rain, however, it can sometimes become rather deep and coloured, which can make wading there quite difficult. Towards the end of the stretch there is some ranunculus, (water crowfoot) leading into a deeper pool. The river bed here is generally stony with small patches of gravel and usually very little silt.

Middle Beat