Excavating the dew pond

Take a look at what we uncovered in the lower part of the field.

In August 2023, one of the very first work parties on WMF was to dig the silt from the dip in the field marked on the map as a dew pond.

31Aug2023

To our delight, we quickly discovered a cobbled base - this really was the site of an old dew pond.

31Aug2023

Before too long, the winter rain filled the dip. Some of the loose stone was used to build a small wall and we planted the earth bank with spring wildflowers.

Jan2024

Katie captured this fabulous view in April - the pond looking resplendent in the spring sunshine. We added frogspawn from a local garden.

25Apr24

By August, the pond had completely dried up. We talked at length about maybe adding a pond liner, or puddling clay to retain water. But what about those cobbles under the silt?

We decided to excavate the mud to expose the deepest part, then try pointing up around the cobbles in an effort to retain water for longer.

29Aug24

We took advantage of some dry weather to lift out the mud chunks and get a closer look at the cobble base. Incredibly, it looked intact! What a piece of work it must have been to create such a structure.

29Aug24

Another couple of work party days - and some intense barrowing effort - shifted much of the rest of the silt.

30Aug24

What to do with the stone we’d pulled from the mud that wasn’t part of the base? Should we build a retaining wall along the hedge side? We needed to know the original shape of the pond - could it be a full circle?

14Sept24

Jane dug a trench through the earth bank to find the edge of the cobbles. They appear to rise steeply up to the fence line - as you can see in this picture.

The dew pond’s mosaic base is amazingly complete and appears to extend in a full circle right to the field-edge wall.

Nothing for it but to dig out the whole bank.

21Sept2024

However… the next stage will have to wait. A monster storm on the night of the autumn equinox completely filled the pond with water.

We’ll wait and watch now for the water to subside again - which could be into next summer.

In the meantime, we have plans to re-set the existing field drains which are blocked and broken. There’s always going to be something to do.

22Sept2024

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