Floods

 

Not a sight we've seen as much as we should've, a forest stream overflowing into the forest around it. It was a particularly dry winter and continues a particularly dry spring too. And although a force nature today, Black Water will be back within banks by tomorrow; the water's running off the land so quickly not because the ground is saturated, rather it's so dry.

Ober Valley

The veiw into the Ober valley told me it was time to turn around, all though there are two bridges close by, there'd be no crossing the Ober this morning.

Apsey Bridge

 

It's boots off and wade then.

Ober Water

Ober Water is beyond it's banks again. It never took much, although as with other forest streams, since they've restored the stream below Markway Bridge it's escaped it's banks with more frequency and with greater ease, flooding the shallow valley through which it flows. When the forest gets like this I try and imagine what it must of been like traversing the forest in the past. What a forbidding landscape it must have been at times.

Detritus deposited

 

Although returned to the confines of it's banks this morning, the hefty lump of tree deposited on the path across Ober Water between Ferny Knap and Clumber suggests that the stream had escaped its' confines significantly overnight. These quiet looking forest streams can quickly turn into torrents after a heavy rain.

Clean sweep

 

What do you notice about the woodland floor here? No leaves. Black Water meanders through the woodland here, and whilst in flood has scoured the floor of last autumns' leaves and detritus, leaving a swathe of green through the stands; highlighting the strength and extent of these small forest streams when engorged. 

Gravel travels

 

For the most part the forest streams appear gentle, slow flowing babbling brooks, though engorged they become different animals. Whilst overfed by the heavy rains we saw through December Red Rise Brook at times became a torrent, the force of the flow lifting gravels up off the stream bed and dragging them up and over the bank. You wouldn't have thought it possible for such a small body of water.

Water meadow

 

The Stour Valley is inundated, the course of the River Stour uncertain; water can be seen as far as the eye can see, much of it moving. I remember once colouring in the floodplains of the Rivers Stour and Avon on an OS map to get an idea of what the prehistoric landscape might have looked like, both are extensive. A couple of thousands of years back, before human management, the floodplains of these river valleys would've been wonderfully rich and diverse wetland environments, places greatly favoured by our forebears; the occurrence of Phragmites or Norfolk reed (Phragmites australis) in the damp corners of fields and the drainage ditches which feed these rivers are a reminders of that world.

Wet

 

That water's about knee deep I reckon; we wont be taking the Holmsley line route this morning. Walking the forest continues to be a very wet affair, where no route can be guaranteed.

That'll be a no then.

 

That'll be a no then.

Southern bayous

 

I hadn't expected things to get wetter this quickly. Through Dames Slough the woodland adjacent to Black Water has the look of a bayous too it; making our walk quite exciting. The nearby raised forestry track and bridge are in risk of being overwhelmed; the bridge has scant space remaining beneath it and the track is already ankle deep in water for 40m or so towards Burly Old and higher ground. When the forest's like this it reminds me of what a forbidding landscape it must've been to traverse prior to fair roads and bridges.

Things can only get wetter

 

With the arrival of the wet season proper the inundation begins. Reliable access to our regular routes is becoming less certain as every subtle hollow and shallow ditch across the lower-lying regions of the forest are now regularly water filled, especially on stream adjacent tracts. Hey ho. Things can only get wetter.

Wetter

 

I return to blogging after a covid hiatus to find my forest roams in a similar state to that which they were before I left, wet. Well, to be honest it would be more accurate to describe them as wetter. This is the highest the water's reached at the Dames Slough bridge for a while. Days of what's seemed like near endless rain sees the forest's stream corridors inundated, becoming broad linear lakes snaking between the stands, whilst the rivulets and drains that feed them have all broken their banks their wet fingers spreading out amongst the trees, even some of the forestry tracks have been made impassible or at least difficult to negotiate due to lengths of running/standing water. What I'm try to say is the forest's bloody wet.

Southern discomfort

 

When the forest's like this it always puts me in minds of the film 'Southern Comfort', a thriller set in the swampy woodlands of Louisiana; of course difference being Hampshire's New Forest is colder, and doesn't have any alligators or angry Cajuns with guns. Unless you stay on the main paths and forestry tracks moving cross country when the forest is like this would be more aptly described as Southern discomfort.

Wet wilderness

Winter's inclement weather changes the forest, turning it into a totally different beast from it's usual welcoming environment. It's at times like this, with swathes of the forest inundated and impassible or at least unnavigable, I imagine the forest of yesteryear; less formal or managed, a real wilderness where keeping to a route or travelling at a reasonable pace is near impossible. Year on year since the stream restoration project began over 20 years ago you've seen the forest's stream environs regain some of that wildness; its not just the streams themselves either, all the rivulets that feed them back up too, filling the surrounding woodland, creating an even more extensive obstacle. It makes for interesting walks.

Denny Lodge flood

A pipe carrying a drainage ditch under one of the forest tracks running through Denny Lodge enclosure has collapsed and flooded the woodland behind it. Weird to come across flooded woodland well away from any stream; an unusual occurrence.

Highland Water

The signs of the extent to which the forest flooded during last nights rain were clear to see, the environs of Highland Water above Millyford Bridge have been scoured of detritus, replaced instead by slick viscus surfaces which make walking quite treacherous. The woodland detritus which once littered the forest floor now forms impromptu dams along the length of the stream; the one filmed had formed at a particularly narrow choke spot between some trees, we could hear it's song long before we could see it. The excess water which created the floods may have subsided, though still Highland Water only just runs within it's banks in places.

Insurmountable inundation

Our route from Spy Holms to Burley Old was blocked this morning by an insurmountable inundation; Red Rise Brook had breached it's banks and now covered swathes of it's environs. There were no crossing points to be found, and we looked; the bridges were inaccessible, the fords deep under water, jump spots had splashdowns rather than landings, and any overhanging boughs were untraversable. I considered wading to a bridge, it would've only been knee deep; I ummed and ahhed, then asked the coin - the coin said no, so our walk was truncated. I should've known better really, and approached from a different direction after heavy rain. On a positive note, it was always an intended outcome of stream restoration that the forest flooded as it would've historically; so, nice to see the plan worked.

Useless

The perennial forest question 'when is a bridge not a bridge'. The above scenario is played out  throughout the forest, although none more so than on Mill Lawn Brook through Ober Water; where four bridges in succession are regularly unusable. Here a perfectly serviceable bridge made useless by being cut off by flood water; surely this situation could easily by avoided with a little forethought in design. I had to attempt some physics defying mad crane like run to bridge the water gap; enough to say, I only achieved limited success in walking on water. 

Red Rise Brook

Forest were wet today, Mother, even the dry bits were wet. And, if you get that obscure parodied reference, I doff my cap. Though yes, even the dry bits were wet today, with both Black Water and Red Rise Brook extending way beyond their banks, flooding their shallow valleys. You're not getting across there, not even in wellies. Our route today took us through Burley Old, Burley New and Dames Slough and whenever we travelled off forestry track (which was mostly), the ground was puddled and yielding. If it doesn't rain the waters will quickly recede until the next time, although the ground will remain sodden now until Spring.