A force to be reckoned with

Sinderhope, Northumberland The river forms itself into muscled waves before curving over the lip of the falls and plummeting down

Wide enough for a cart, this now grassy track was once well used. It curves down, gate-posted by alders, to a stone bridge, also greened by turf over time. Through a well-worn field gate, the way thins to a foot-trammelled path that snakes through decaying meadowsweet, dog's mercury and stands of wild raspberry.

I walk alongside the East Allen, churning and noisy after two days of rain and the colour of strong tea. The river spits foam up into the wild wind. It's my second time here in a month - first to see the fish migrating up stream, but today to thrill at the river in spate.

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