Swimming up a post industrial river is no mean feat when you are a salmon, trout or grayling. All these weirs get in your way of making it to the spawning grounds in the nice gravelly upstreams; and thats no exception on our local Don river and its tributaries.

Thankfully, fish passes have been built on the weirs.

Where there's a weir, there's a way!

But these must be checked regularly for obstructions; Leaping to the task were a (s)t(r)out team of GoodGymers: Rachel, Michelle, Cat, Celine, as well as Helen whose first GoodGym deed it was! Welcome Helen!

We were joined by Matt from Charity DCRT who shared his knowledge of all things weirs, fish passes and local wildlife with us, including the sand martins and the nest box in Kelham island - I'd never noticed that before!

Observing wildlife never fails to lift my spirits - it's always amazing to notice it on your doorstep, even in our urban environments. Giving wildlife a little care is even better! Join us on our next weir watch!

Thank you for all the fish (passes)...

We gathered on a sunny summer's evening at the Showroom in Sheffield to survey some fish passes. We were raring to get running and witness some weirs working. Armed with smart phones, pens and paper, and the energy of caffeinated children we set off on our journey downstream. The weirs we surveyed were Lady's Bridge, Walk Mill, Burton, and Sanderson's.

River me timbers!

The condition of the fish passes and weirs was as follows: Lady's Bridge- Clear at the top, clear at the bottom, flowing, no damage. There were some builder's lights on the weir. Walk Mill- Clear at the top, clear at the bottom, flowing, no damage. Channel on left of pass blocked. Burton - Clear at the top, clear at the bottom, flowing, no damage. Sanderson's- Clear at the top, clear at the bottom, flowing, no damage. There was a lot of bird life on this weir.

As this was quite a long run at over 7km a fitness session was passed over, with the exception of a few squats for a photo op!

Upon returning to the Showroom we fully stretched off before popping in for refreshments and rest.

A big welcome to new runner to the group Stephanie. Stephanie did a fantastic effort on her first group run out and even cycled to and from The Showroom as well!

This week we were completing our final weir fish survey for the Don Catchment Rivers Trust (DCRT).

It is really getting to the stage where it is too dark to be able to see the weirs and once the clocks change at the end of the month it will most certainly be too dark so it's the right time to be wrapping it up.

We got to 3 passes and all were looking good as far as we could see, although there was some pretty large overgrowth in some areas, making it tricky to fully see some areas.

With a good 5km or there abouts by the time we returned, this was a good distance for a first run so we called it there until the next one.

Happy running! :)

On a rainy Monday evening two gregarious goodgymers gathered to assess the freeways of fish. There are various types of fish passes on the weirs on the River Don which allow fish to migrate upstream. Our job tonight was to make sure that these paths past the stone obstacles were easily accessible and able to fulfill their intended roles.

We ran to four weirs and noted down the conditions of the different types of pass on each one to report back to the DCRT, alongside pictures for their records. The weirs we surveyed were Lady's Bridge, Walk Mill, Burton's and Sanderson's.

After running a reyt respectable distance river reviewing we headed back to the Showroom where we stretched off and debriefed.

Whilst the August Bank Holiday Monday was in full swing, we weren't going to PASS up the opportunity to get a good run in and in true goodgym style we combined this with a good deed..

This weeks group run good deed was to carry out a survey of the fish passes on the River Don for the Don Catchment Rivers Trust to ensure that the passes are kept clear from debris to maintain the path for the fish in the area to make it upstream.

On the whole things were looking happy and healthy and in a true flow state!

We got some good mileage in and Nathanael got some great photos along the way!

Until next time, happy running :)

3 intrepid explorers set off from The Showroom in search of fish passes in and on weirs along the course of the River Don in central Sheffield. These features in the river need to be inspected and evaluated every so often to make sure they are serving the purpose for which they were installed, flagging up any issues to be fixed. There is a form with set criteria on to be evaluated at each site. As we were a small group tonight we elected to stay together to do the inspections, rather then split up and cover a greater number. We still managed to inspect 4 sites and cover 6km in our alloted time. Great job team GG!

After inspecting as many passes as we could, including Sanderson's Weir, Burton Weir, Walk Mill and Lady's Bridge, we headed back to The Showroom to stretch off before bidding each other adieu.