High Quality Webcams on West Country Rivers

By thepicklebot -
Fowey River at Twowatersfoot
Webcam of Fowey River at Twowatersfoot

The cameras currently refresh at 1 frame every 10 seconds. Farson Digital hope to be getting a sponsorship deal with a major broadband supplier sorted out shortly, in order to allow the cameras to stream live. The cameras Farson Digital use last 10 years and are made by a German company. They are used in the Arctic and have no moving parts and never freeze (-30° to +60°C ) and being German, they just work. The Environment Agency also use them in the UK. It’s a great solid state, all weather, 3 mega pixel camera that just plugs into a broadband connection and will stream live images at 25fps (pal), which is currently way too much for most of the broadband packages we are hooked up to.

Farson Digital have just signed a sponsorship deal with the West Country Rivers Trust, as they are very keen to promote West Country Fishing Tourism and see this as a great vehicle to do so. The Angling Trust, Salmon & Trout Association, Fishing Associations and various advertisers are seeing the benefits of being involved. Thirteen cameras are now up and running. The cameras have also proved to be a big hit with canoeists and other river users. Some viewers just like to watch the salmon running up the rivers and canoeists running down.

Tamar River at Horsebridge
Webcam of Tamar River at Horsebridge

Farson Digital put up the first two cameras on the River Exe and River Taw and sold the advertising space reasonably easily, then decided to get a network up and running before entering into a campaign to bring on board more sponsors.

Camel River at Nanstallon
Webcam of Camel River at Nanstallon

This is an exciting project for local fishermen and tourism in the West Country. The current total for the 13 cameras is 91000 visits, each averaging about 2 minutes. Bearing in mind they have been coming on line in stages since May, and the last three came on line just last week, we think this is very encouraging for the future. The first camera online, at Exebridge on the River Exe, is fast approaching 28,000 visits. We are adding cameras regularly to the network and are hoping to have all the 14 major West Country Rivers fitted with cameras by the end of this year. Farson Digital are also talking with other regions about installing networks for them.

One of the main benefits of the cameras for fishermen is the ability to be able to check the river height and colour, if the water is to high and to coloured you will have a wasted journey, not to mention the fuel. Also, if one river is flood and unfishable due to a localised storm, you can check the webcams and quickly make arrangements to fish on another unaffected river.

River Lyner at Rilla Mill
Webcam of River Lyner at Rilla Mill

Farson Digital have created a 'fishing conditions update’ pop up window and blog. This appears in the centre of the webcam image in the same way as our timeline / water gauge picture does. The information/update is written by a 3rd party for each river/camera. You are able to click through to the camera’s blog, which is an interactive area between registered users and the blog administrator. This would generally be the person who is writing the reports. Great for angling tourists, tourists and locals alike, ‘The Voice of the River’.

Take a look at the cameras yourself here www.farsondigital.co.uk





Share

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rick Stein's Big Fish Supper

By thepicklebot -
Image
On Friday 10th July Stein’s Fish & Chip shop in Padstow will be holding their Big Fish Supper in aid of the Fishermen’s Mission and have pledged to donate 3% of its total income on the day to the charity. This is an annual event at Stein’s and all monies donated will help the Mission provide emergency welfare support to fishermen and their families 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. On average 25 UK vessels are lost each year around the coast often resulting in tragic consequences. The Mission has for over 130 year been a lifeline to the fishing communities around the UK. "Working as a fisherman is a dangerous and lonely job that very few people comprehend. The Fishermen's Mission makes sure it knows the hardship fishermen and their families face and therefore exactly how to help them," - Rick Stein, Mission Vice-Patron and restaurateur.
Read more

Mark Preston at the Lighthouse Gallery

By -
Image
Painter Mark Preston has been drawn to the rugged, dramatic coastline between St Ives and Lands End since he was a fine art student in the 1990s. For the past year, Mark’s work has focused on capturing the beauty of the land and sea of West Cornwall throughout the four seasons. This exhibition of forty works, showing from the 6th to 21st September 2013, explores the Duchy in all its glory; sun, rain, storms, spring flowers, winter seas, enticing beaches and wild landscapes. Although based in Derbyshire, Preston is a devoted painter of the Cornish land, coast and sea, fascinated by the way in which the changing seasons affect these spectacular places. Inspired to become a landscape painter through many painting trips to the Peak District, Cornwall and Scotland with his artist father, Rex Preston, Mark paints outdoors using acrylics, with relatively little time spent in the studio. Direct contact with the landscape and natural elements are essential for his painting. Working wi
Read more

Marazion

By -
Image
We are of slowly emerging out of winter, March is here, but for this month's blog post I wanted to revisit a special weekend last November at Marazion. It has to be one of the most magical places in Cornwall, an adorable village with a famous view that is ever changing as well as being ancient and immovable. A dear friend took me off to the lovely Godolphin Hotel for a weekend treat, and it really was perfect. The beauty of the colder months in Cornwall is the quietness, and it was just that, still, poignant and memorable. As you arrive in this little village, all attention centres on the island castle across the bay, and rightly so. The hotel itself is little but stylish, has a laid back charm and a playful feel. The kindest of people, they upgraded our room to one with a balcony and that fabulous view. The restaurant area was the perfect place to have a pre dinner cocktail and watch the sun sink into the horizon. I chatted with a chilled dad, who had snuck away while his kids we
Read more