It's not a barge, it's a narrow boat!

One of the things I'm enjoying most about living in Diggle is the proximity of the Huddersfield Canal. Just down the lane is the point where it disappears into Standedge Tunnel, the longest and highest canal tunnel in the UK, which leads through the Pennines to Marsden and on to Huddersfield.

From Diggle it's a pleasant two-mile walk along the towpath to Uppermill. At this time of year the banks and hedgerows are bright with wild flowers - magenta and white foxgloves, yarrow and dog-rose. And everywhere, so much green, the emerald green of early summer, mirrored in the peat-dark waters of the canal.

There wasn't much call for green in my French sketches and I'm having to adapt my colours to the new environment. Ready-mixed greens like Sap Green and Viridian were long ago banished from my palette and I've been experimenting with different combinations: Lemon Yellow with varying amounts of French Ultramarine gives a nice fresh spring green and I add my old favourite, Paynes Grey, for a really deep, dark shade - as here for the shadows under the bridge.

I sketched this scene on the towpath in Uppermill. As a linguist, I'm always keen to use the right terminology, so was pleased to learn from a boat owner the other day that these vessels are not called barges but narrow boats. So there you go.