Oh, I do like to be beside the riverside

My childhood home overlooked the Candover stream in Hampshire, a winterbourne for much of its length but a source of absorption for me. A family walk might offer glimpses of the stream, and if so I would drag my feet, hoping for a flash of fin or feather, or simply watching the water.

I found the movement hypnotic; the glides, twists and bulges coming together to form a perfect rhythm, albeit with an irregular beat. My interest led inevitably to a fascination of life within water, and with a fishing rod in hand I found both purpose and connection. And while angling has since led me to all manner of ponds, lakes and even the sea, it is beside a river that I find myself most at ease.

I learnt that to find fish you must understand what is happening beneath the surface and there are subtleties to be read no matter how wide the course. Learning the language of water can aid one’s metaphoric immersion within it, and the benefits of spending time beside a river stretch far beyond the whimsical needs of an angler.

Whenever I felt depressed, I found a sense of peace beside a river. I found the water cleansing and the perpetual movement soothing. It would feel as though I was stepping outside the constraints and pressures of time. Here, after all, was a lifeblood created over thousands of years, and beside it my sadder moments seemed insignificant, my problems drifting off with the downstream current.

From a stroll on the banks of the Loire to an adventure along the Amazon, Kevin Parr selects 20 of the most inspirational river walks in the world

The Ebro in La Rioja province – the river runs for some 600 miles from west to east across northern Spain