River Tone
The bank of the River Tone as it passes through Creech is a lovely place to walk. A footpath leads from Ham all along the bank to Bull Street in Creech St Michael. The path along the river can then be picked up again in the centre of Creech and leads to Ruishton and onto Taunton. This is the view from behind Mill Lane looking towards Creech Paper Mill and on to Taunton.
Otters have been spotted, creating whirlpools as they dip in and out of the water. The water is full of lillies with their bright yellow flowers and the reeds in the foreground have been home to a family of reed warblers earlier in the season. The bridge in the background is actually an aqueduct that carried the Chard Canal over the river – now defunct the aqueduct no longer contains water but still provides a wonderful habitat for wildlife.
Our Parish Wildlife Project gives more detail of the variety of the wildlife to be found in the parish including its flora and fauna.The River is one of two waterways that run through Creech, the other being the Bridgwater to Taunton Canal. Both waterways were once navigable and provided a source of industry and employment in an around the parish. There were several mills in the village, notably the ‘Philbert’ mill as it became known. This was a flour and grist mill situated in Mill Lane, and was sold in 1874 presumably for the water rights to the Sommerville family, who the following year built Creech Paper Mill.
Ham Mills was further down the river at Ham, and was also a flour mill. Coal was brought from Bridgwater to Ham by barge and coal warfs were built in the area. The other main mill in the village, North End Mill, was built on a tributary of the Tone, known locally as the River Preen. In the 1960s the course of the river was altered, and a new ‘cut’ added to help alleviate the flooding in the area.
Creech St Michael is often included in walks organised by Taunton Ramblers, click HERE for their summer programme.