So the plan was to have an army of people (the usual August Bank Holiday camping crew) to spend the weekend digging out clay to form a pond and use it to build a dam to fill it... unfortunately it didn't quite turn out like that... we had the mighty Flee, our dam designer, builder and site manager extraordinaire, and his two sidekicks, Cripple and Flid. Tracey's ongoing back torment means she can't work for too long and my non-functioning arms also make me pretty near useless right now... but we decided to give it a go anyway. We started Saturday morning digging and shifting clay from the more open end of the ditch where two streams feed the ghyll and then dumping/flinging/throwing/flicking it as close as we could to where the dam was being built by Flee at the far end. We tried shovels, then spades, and finally our bare hands, and when that was eventually too painful we stopped for food and a brew. It was seriously hard work and the sun beating down on us in a stagnant clay pit was really not comfortable. But we ploughed on after lunch, fuelled by Flee's enthusiasm that we were doing a cracking job. Thankfully Ant turned up later in the afternoon to take over for a bit and we were able to rest.
Finally we reached Saturday evening; the "quarry" was immense, the darkness drew in and the "beancrap" was bubbling on the fire for dinner, but Flee had still not returned from taking Becky home - 9pm came and went and suddenly we heard the familiar donkey call from the top of the wood... followed amazingly by the call of a chicken....Mungo was with him! and the girls too - the cavalry had arrived. We pitched a tent for the girls and got them fed and in bed and settled in to hear Mungo's version of events from his recent epic journey from John O'Groats to Lands End on his Scooter in just 24 hours. Awesome feat and an awesome evening. Donations are still flowing in and if you want to know more click here and please donate to his worthy cause - the Friends of Sussex Hospices.
Sunday started once again with more digging and shovelling and a lot of clay puddling and some fantastic stonework on the outfall side of the dam. A minor hiccup around mid afternoon caused some frantic stake collecting and insertion before the dam once again looked stable and formidable (if a little tank-like with its' overflow pipe stuck out at 45 degrees into the air!). Mungo had to return home Sunday night for work Monday, but was determined the upstand would be in place and the pond filling before he left and how right he was. I was beside myself with excitement. The pipe went on at 445pm and we checked the levels every hour until the last torchlit check at 1045pm. By which time we had baked and eaten Camembert for the 3rd night running and drunk a heroic amount of red wine. Life doesn't get any better.
The weather had been so kind all weekend - and then Sunday night happened. I was woken at 5am by the creaking of the tarps above my head weighed down with gallons of water that was about to land on me in my bunk. I don't sleep in a tent at the wood, but on a wooden A-frame bed with canvas stretcher - so pretty open to the elements... only a tarp and my bivvy separated me from the torrential downpour that continued for hours through the night and did not slow until at least lunchtime. I had to get up every 20 minutes to empty the tarps and so there was no going back to sleep and also no going to check the pond, much to my annoyance. I'm not known for my patience and so by 745am I was dressed head to toe in waterproofs and dancing round my brand new and completely full pond in the rain. I came so close to getting in for a dip, but being alone in the woods I decided that might not be a sensible thing to do in case the banks were unstable and collapsed trapping my legs in the water for any length of time.
By 830am I could not wait any longer and shouted for Flee and Tracey to get up and come look - it really is a thing of beauty. It might be just a sludgy-coloured body of freezing cold water, but to me it represents a haven for all kinds of creatures that can now make Rais their home. It's perfect. Looks like it's always been there, has ledges and levels, shade and full sun, as well as plants and roots already lining the banks. Magic.It really won't take long for the wildlife to take up residence and in fact Flee already found shrimp in the bottom before we filled it! I can't wait to see what else arrives.
Because of the heavy rain, the ponds overflow pipe was doing its' job and the water was thundering down the standpipe at a serious rate making the dam sound like a hydroelectric power station at times. Flee spotted a slightly concerning leak next to the outfall pipe which suggested the water had found a route through the sandy soil on the north bank of the dam. Not a major surprise - but a teething problem we will have to monitor over the coming weeks. We had a big celebratory fry up for breakfast in the Yardarm as it was still raining, and managed to complete a few odd jobs that needed doing whilst keeping a close eye on the water levels every half hour. Even managed to put in some steps down to the dam making it much safer for "Cripple" and others to get down the bank and see the pond. Something was bugging Flee - he needed to satisfy himself he had done everything he could to ensure the dam was solid.... his method soon became apparent when he stripped down in the Yardarm and ran butt-naked to the pond to get in and feel for leaks! What a way to end a cracking weekend!!! Amazing job team and an amazing pond/pool/haven. I love it.
