EYEBROOK RESERVOIR, RUTLAND: WW2 LANCASTERS PRACTISED THERE...

Low Fliers

Placid, silent;

The expanse of reservoir

Eked a gnarled channel

Towards insipid mists

And pastel trees,

Disturbed only by unhurried divers,

Querulous, flapping gulls

And fussing wagtails,

As a pale March sky

Watched its myriad reflections

Flatter, deceive, disturb, yet ultimately please...

I saw a swan, then:

Flying low in a determined approach;

Heavy, foreboding, insidious;

I imagined a Lancaster, then,

Flying low in a predetermined approach:

Heavy, brooding, invidious...

Pete Ray

Ate a meagre lunch alongside Eyebrook Reservoir, Rutland, where Lancaster bombers practised low flying for the ‘Dambusters’ raid. 

And then a swan did just that: flew low along the length of the reservoir... 

Remarkable.