Covering south and west shores of Finch pond complex i.e. pond and marsh/marginal reedbeds.

I probably sound like a stuck record, as I simply repeat I am perplexed as to the height of the land. It just looks too high to accommodate a pond and marshy wetlands. Granted there is a marshy bit, with much standing water in winter, up against the south footpath alongside the sewage works, but the rest of the area is higher than this bit. Even when fully flooded, after an extended deluge, the southern and western shores of what will be the new Finch pond complex stayed high and dry.  That's because Inert have raised the height of the land.

They appear to be raising it even higher, which makes me wonder how they are going to develop a pond with marshy ground.

I am agog to see what happens over the next few weeks.

Covering south and west shores of Manor lake.

This unease continued as I worked my way westward along the south vehicle track. The land looks too elevated to contain a lake with shallow marshy margins. Time, as they say, will tell.

Covering north edge of Manor lake to wetlands and then lead up to former pump station mound.

A large bit of banking blocks much of the view of the east side of the copse from the south footpath. Therefore, Saturdays always come as a surprise as to how much or little progress have made.  This week I discovered that Inert have smeared a thin top layer of soil or mud east of the copse. Plans suggest that this is the western and northern edge of the new, elongated Manor lake. 

I can't work out if the layer is simple top soil or a more waterproof capping. Manor lake does have a lot of marshy reedbeds around its fringes. Anyway, time will tell what occurs here, but I must say, the level of the land looks too high to my untrained eye, devoid of satnav altitude readings.

Further east from the copse, we find Inert have excavated a rather curious, squat trench. You'll see me using the words curious and odd and perplexing a lot. I just can't work out what Inert are up to. This trench is an example. It is in the middle of nowhere and appears to serve no purpose.

Way over to the east of current restoration, up against the wetland, Inert have smeared yet more mud along the edge of the area. An evil, gooey, Pahoehoe looking mud that might be high in clay.  This stuff is drying very quickly in the current record breaking heatwave and drought, and develops huge cracks.

More piles of stuff has been piled up in the route towards the former pump station mound, some of it has been partially smeared into a thin layer.  But again, I am perplexed how Inert flit all over the site.

​My perplexity deepened as worked my way around to what remains of pump station mound. I had to take a semi-circular detour due to freshly bulldozed mud, partially sitting in flood water. This stuff is lethal for sinking into, with the added bonus (if it has a high clay content) of the stuff clinging on to wellies like superglue, as you try and free your foot.

The area is nicely flattened, graded level and, I feel, far too high.  There is meant to be a shallow lake here, with margins for reedbeds. It just doesn't work for me, unless Inert are asked to dig out vast chunks.

Controversial start, what?

It is amazing what you can find on the internet. A more thorough search of Wokingham Borough Council's planning website revealed this little gem.

You'll have to click on it for a larger view, and even then you'll find it difficult to read what has been typed. Someone at Cemex picked a weird font.

The gist of it is, all the work listed on Manor farm has got dates for last year, 2021. Thus, reeds were supposed to be planted along the margins of the largest of the Finch pond complex. This area is still being shaped and sculpted by Inert. However, this diagram does give hope that the area will be finished off by next year. The schedule is pretty close to that for Fleet Hill farm restoration.

Now the car park. The proposed number of spaces is 20. I thought it was 58.  20 spaces is too small. The Moor Green Lakes car park can accommodate up to 35 cars, and can get very busy. The MGL car park is well hidden, mid way along a single track road, little used by traffic.  MGL itself is almost completely unknown to residents of Yateley, Eversley, Finchampstead and Wokingham - simply because it is off the beaten track.

Longwater road nature reserve will be front and centre on a busy road. People will be much more aware of its existence. Let's face it, birders are already aware of MGL and the nascent Longwater road nature reserve.

OK, enough controversy. Back to our scheduled program.

Inert were hardly to be seen, when I stomped around the south footpath on Thursday morning: one silent, forlorn yellow digger, and one heavy earth mover paying a flying visit. There didn't seem to be any progress.

How wrong I was.

An early Saturday morning stomp across the site, revealed a whole host of activity had taken place. I start part one of this update with the north shore of the new Finch pond-marsh-reedbed complex.

Inert have continued to profile the edge of this area.  They've transported more topsoil looking stuff onto the area, adding to the row north of the embankment.  Curiously, they have piled spoil around a large depression north of the banking, and profiled its edge. This is really odd, as this area is supposed to have a couple or three small ponds dotted in grassland.

They've also smeared a thin layer of what looks like mud across the west side of Finch pond Snr - the biggest of the Finch ponds.  They've also done this elsewhere. I can't work out if this is just a thin layer of topsoil or a more waterproof capping layer.  It's dead curious, especially as the stuff looks like Pahoehoe lava.

Finally, on this marathon update, cause by me not stomping over the site for two weeks, this section covers the east, west and south shore of the new Finch pond.

As I said in earlier posts, I watched Inert spend months and much effort to infill the once mighty Finch pond between the copse and sewage works and Longwater road entrance. Inert have now been instructed to dig this whole area out to form the new, large Finch pond, replete with reed beds. I did keep mentioning in my blogs that I was perplexed why they infilled and then built up this area.

On the other hand, I have repeatedly said that plans keep changing, and the original plans for the site are at least 20 or 30 years old. Inert's site foreman did say, way back in late winter of this year, that he was awaiting final plans from Cemex. Certainly his workforce have been busily digging out the ponds and profiling their edges.

My only observation, with my MK 1 eyeball and without a tape measure, is I still reckon the south shore of Finch pond is too far north of the south footpath aka Blackwater river footpath.

One heartening feature of Finch pond, is that it has lots of mounds (scrapes, perhaps) dotted about it. Birds love these features. However, I can only hope that they are a permanent feature, and will not be bulldozed flat in the coming. Though without bank protection, they will be washed away by pond water - as is happening with Tern island, Moor Green Lakes.

Covering the south vehicle track from the former pump station mound to my mighty mound.

Pump station mound has effectively been flattened. After spending many, many months to build the thing, Inert took a matter of weeks to flatten it. The area is still curiously graded flat, even though much of it is supposed to be the new, elongated Manor lake.

My mighty mound, which I climbed up to photography the area, is sadly almost gone. A days effort on Inert's part, will see its demise. Of greater perplexity, is the grading that has occurred to the east of the copse. Meant to be part of the new, mighty Manor lake, it is too high. I suspect Inert may have to spend time digging this area out. Though, I have seen them do this many times: dump, flatten, dig out, repeat.

Covers section leading up to former pump station mound, also the former pump station and the pump station itself.

As I surmised a week ago, Inert were working on the section of land bordering the existing wetlands and leading up to pump station mound. They appear to have dumped more spoil onto this area, pushed it into the existing wetlands, graded it flat, and built up some banking. I have a feeling the banking is in the wrong place.

They've also reduced the mighty cliff of a bank of soil, which mainly comprised pump station mound, to the point where I could easily walk up to the former pump station. Two weeks ago I took a detour.  Some of the spoil that made up pump station mound has been pushed into the channel/pond which the pump inlet used to sit.

The pump inlet has been dragged out of the channel/pond, and is now high and dry on land. This is not to say it wont put back into the water, and reconnected to its pump. Water levels have risen, despite the lack of rain and heat waves.  In fact, one small bit of their workings, a sloping track leading up to pump station mound, is partially flooded, forcing me to scramble up on to some banking to get around it.  I could have walked through the water - it was only a couple of inches deep - but I only had waterproof walking boots on (not wellies) and the first step I took indicated very soft ground.

Freshly bulldozed soil can be very, very soft - the consistency of quicksand. Step on it, and you can sink up to your knees in the stuff.

Covers the section from the north of the copse eastward to the wetlands, over what was Cormorant lake (south) .

Inert continue to flatten the mounds they have built up over the past four years. To the east of the copse, little remains of my mighty mound, which I used to climb up to photography the changes to the site. The height gives a totally different perspective to the site, and is great for Bird In Flight photography; especially as birds normally fly east-west (or west-east) along the length of the site.

My mighty mound has been bulldozed across an area of land to the east of the copse, which is rather odd. This area is supposed to be part of the new, elongated Manor lake, and  wetlands. I can just see Inert having to dig this whole area out again.

Moving further to the east, Inert have dotted odd bits of spoil around the place. No apparent reason why.  As we begin to approach the existing wetlands, we see that Inert have been tinkering here over the past two week, bulldozing land level, building up banking (in what looks like the wrong places), and knocking down some of the soil built up around pump station mound.

One consequence of Inert hauling out the pump inlet is that water levels have begun to rise; despite the recent heatwaves and continuing lack of rain. The 1/4" dropped during the recent thunderstorms do not count: partly as it didn't rain everywhere and partly as the ground was so dry any water promptly soaked into the soil and then sucked up by plants.

Covering the northern section of the new Finch pond complex

Inert were instructed to fill in the once mighty Finch pond, which used to cover almost all of the western side of the Manor farm site. It took Inert a couple of years to infill Finch pond and then to raise the land.  Now I am watching Inert merrily digging out large swathes of the southern part of this site to form the Finch pond complex, and carting the spoil all the way back over to Chandlers farm, from where it first came from.

The Finch pond complex consists of one large pond close to the south footpath (River Blackwater path) and the sewage works. Unfortunately, the edges of the pond will be smothered in reed beds, meaning you get to see very little. If the edge of the new reserve is to be clothed in trees, then I'm afraid folks, you ain't going to see very much wildlife.  This cuts people off from engaging with nature.

Inert have also done one of their baffling flits about the site, this time taking small chunk out of the east part of the north embankment. They appear to have dumped this top soil in a line close to the Longwater road entrance, as if to mark out a boundary.

Time will tell what this was all about.

This, initial post contains highlights of progress over the past fortnight. Remember, I didn't stomp on Manor farm last week as it was so hot. This was nothing compared to the scorching 37.5C we experienced on Monday and Tuesday, plus the first time UK recorded temperatures exceed 40C.

Inert appear to be throwing everything bar the kitchen sink at the restoration. Two heavy earth movers, two diggers and our stalwart bulldozer; and possibly other vehicles I never get to see. I also have a suspicion that a large amount of overtime is being paid. Twice I have seen Inert busily at work on Manor farm after 16:00 on a Friday.  This past Friday (22nd July) they were still working at 17:30!!!

Whilst it has been a fortnight since I stomped over the site, I can say that Inert have accomplished a considerable amount of work.

Perhaps restoration, or at least the landscaping component, will be completed by 2023.

Further encouraging signs that this might be the case.

1. Perhaps the most significant development is that our venerable pump has been dragged onto dry land and disconnected from the pipe that leads to the settlement ponds on Chandlers farm. The bit of water (a fragment of Cormorant lake south) has been filled in.

This might be a premature move by Inert, as water is flowing off the Ridges and north part of the site, and has started to flood parts of the incomplete restoration on what was the north shore of Cormorant lake (south). Of course, Inert can always plonk the pump back into water to resume pumping.

2. Pump station mound has been flattened.

3. My mighty mound, just east of the copse, has been reduced in size by at least half. It could well disappear during this coming week.

4. The old Yellow bridge has been moved, possibly positioned to be broken down and removed.

5. Inert continue landscaping the Finch pond complex, particularly the largest of the new ponds.

6. A small chunk of the west North embankment has been removed and dumped, in nice little piles, along what will become a channel for the Colebrook.

There is still a fair amount to do, but I believe easily achievable if Inert continue the momentum it has built up over July.

As I have so many photographs, I will spread this week's report over a number of posts.