Proposed car park not big enough. Schedule one year late. Capping begins. Pt 2 31st July 2022

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.