FOR many decades the riverside walks in and around Mansbridge have been some of the most popular spots for local Southampton people to enjoy a country stroll, while still being close to the city.

The tree-lined banks, ducks and swans, fishermen’s brightly coloured floats bobbing on the water and, of course, a pub where it’s possible to listen to the gurgling river all combine to make Mansbridge a charming place.

It was just the same more than 75 years ago, when in 1935 a young girl came to play at Mansbridge, a memory she would never forget.

Decades later, in 1976, the same girl, Audrey Russell Nixon, wrote from an address in Ontario, Canada, to the Daily Echo recalling her younger days.

“My childhood summers of delight began when I was eight years old and my family moved from the centre of Southampton to Walnut Avenue in Swaythling,’’ wrote Audrey.

“This was in 1935 and the war was still a few years away. It seemed it was always summer then.

“There were many wonderful things to discover along the byways and one of the most exciting was Mansbridge and the river flowing beneath it, the old canal path which ran beside it, and the chalky banks on which it firmly stood.

“The summer’s activities centred around the bridge. A little upstream was the favourite spot for non-swimmers, no weeds here and fairly shallow, clear, slow flowing water by the bank.

“Here, too, was the delightful mudhole – the footpath was low lying at this spot and, with extra water splashed on it by our eager hands, we contrived a mud-hole any pig would have relished.

“Blue flags grew here in abundance and some yellow ones, and huge marsh marigolds, and reeds which we wove into mats wondering how ‘natives’ in other countries got their mats to stay together when finished; ours always unravelled. The water was deeper beneath Mansbridge, and although clear the shadow cast by the bridge often made it seem a little menacing, even on a summer’s day.

“The most daring feat was to jump or dive from ‘the pipe’, a big black pipe which followed the curve of the bridge.

This was undertaken by the ‘big boys’ and all the girls and little kids gave them much admiration.’’