We have a treat today for anyone who loves messing about on boats - or who simply enjoys the River Ouse in all its many moods.

The Seventies may have been the decade that fashion forgot. But the Ouse has rarely looked better than in some of these stunning photographs from our archives - especially, perhaps, John Giles' brooding 1972 photograph taken from the ancient water tower at Marygate Landing.

Not to be outdone, Garry Atkinson managed to capture a distinctly Venetian feel in his 1975 portrait of a river boat emerging from beneath the arch of Lendal Bridge. And Rodney Wildsmith's 1970 view taken from the shattered walls of warehouses that were being demolished on Skeldergate gives a surprising view of Clifford's Tower rising above the houses on South Esplanade opposite.

These photos all come from a folder in our archive marked 'River Ouse, boats, black + white'. Enjoy...

1. December 16, 1972: With a stormy sky threatening more rain, a shopper pauses beside the water tower at Marygate Landing to look at a boat riding high on the flooded River Ouse. Photo: John Giles

2. August 16, 1972: The Foss basin proves to be a haven for young people practising the art of fishing in the school holidays

3. October 7, 1978: Season's end... and tied up for the winter at their moorings near Lendal Bridge, York pleasure cruisers seem to be at rest following the long tourist season. Photo: Jim Brownbill

4. 1973: A sunlit scene at Marygate Landing with, in the background, Lendal Bridge and the Guildhall

5. May 24, 1975: A sleek pleasure cruiser glides along York's 'Grand Canal' as ancient architecture and the impressive arch of Lendal Bridge lend a distinctively Venetian flavour to the setting. Photo: Garry Atkinson

6. December 9, 1977: The sailing boat Makita II, which came half adrift from the bows on the River Ouse but thankfully caused little obstruction to light winter river traffic

7. August 29, 1970: The shattered walls of a warehouse being demolished in Skeldergate in the foreground contrast with the ordered elegance of buildings on the opposite bank of the Ouse - and frame a fine view of Clifford's Tower rising above houses on South Esplanade.

The warehouse being demolished is presumably the Dutch-gabled one, built on the medieval stone footings of an earlier riverside property, which once housed the warehouse of a wine and port importer. After lying derelict for many years, the warehouse was fully renovated in the 1960s, only to be demolished in 1970. Photo: Rodney Wildsmith

8. An 1853 picture taken by William Pumphrey showing the Dutch-gabled warehouse at Skeldergate which was demolished in 1970. Photo: Explore York Libraries and Archives

Stephen Lewis