It was just a whim that took me along the riverside walk this morning.
The weather had been very wet indeed and I nearly carried on past the car park without stopping.
But I had just been reading a book about the Mill nearby so I decided to stop, just for a few minutes.
I walked along the river for about a half mile, then the rain started again and I had to shelter under a riverside willow.
The river was in flood and I was fascinated by the huge power of the water surging past me.
Then I heard a strange squealing noise from just ahead.
The flock of ducks that had been happily feeding on the river bank immediately took to the air. There must be a predator about!
About a hundred metres away a small brown shape appeared under an overhanging tree - a grebe perhaps?
I set up my camera on full zoom, focused and pressed the record button.
Lifting up my binoculars this is what I saw:
I couldn't believe my luck!
I was in a good position, a safe distance away upstream and there was no-one else around.
Absolutely no reason why I shouldn't get some more views of this wonderful animal.
Almost straight away it reappeared, almost in the same place.
I could see its chest heaving and its mouth opening as it gulped air; staying in place in a river running this fast was obviously an exhausting task.
With such brief glimpses, I decided to try slow motion to get a better view.
It sort of worked.
It disappeared again only to pop up like a cork a few seconds later.
This time it submerged immediately, taking a quick gasp of air without stopping.
Time and time again it dived without a rest, but never came up with any food.
Perhaps it was catching something very small that I couldn't see, crayfish?
Now the rain really started to come down in earnest.
Not that it should make any difference to a wet otter.
Except now it shook its head vigorously every time it surfaced - as if to get rid of the rain!
(slow motion video again, at 60 frames per second)
Next a change in strategy, it crossed the river and started to hunt in a more traditional manner, with dives interspersed with longer periods on the surface.
In this sequence when the otter surfaces the first time it does seem to be chewing something.
Finally it started to swim towards me and I managed to get some closer shots.
And one last slow motion sequence.
I'm so glad I didn't stay at home in the dry this morning. Sometimes it's worth getting wet!