Tag: Chasewater

March 13th – Chasewater was great tonight. It was slightly chilly, but there was a lovely, hazy softness to the sunset that was really captivating. I swung round the dam works via the bypass path and headed over the boardwalk to Fly Bay. The really great thing about this place is that I keep finding bits of it that I didn’t know existed. Halfway over the bay, I found this boardwalk bridge and steps, leading to the bench and fingerpost overlooking the north shore. I hoped to see some deer on my return over the heath and down the railway causeway, but sadly even the cows were in hiding. A lovely end to the day.

March 13th – Not far today, as I had other things to do, but I did get in a circuit of Chasewater and Brownhills at sundown. I optimistically approached via the canal, hoping the barriers had not been replaced, but sadly, they had. I did notice something interesting, however. Bob the boat, which reader Roger ‘Ziksby’ Jones had noted a few weeks ago up by Longwood Junction was now at Anglesey Basin. I’m sure I’ve seen the narrowboat at Hopwas and maybe Shugborough too. It certainly gets about a bit.

March 10th – Again, the barriers around the southern dam works were breached at the basin and to the north end of the compound. I see the dredging has started, but the drying lagoon on Chasewater shore has been razed, so no quite sure what’s happening there. The question, however, as to what you do when your dredger is shafted has been answered. Still out of the water at Ogley Basin, the original machine is clearly still crippled, so it would appear a mini-excavator is lifted onto a workboat, and work continues. Odd that a brand new, seemingly little used dredger amusingly called ‘Hamster’ – has been languishing in Ogley Junction for at least two years. If this is a symbol of the way the newly reorganised British Waterways charity works, we’re in for interesting times…

March 10th – Spring is certainly climbing onto her throne. Zipping up through Chasewater yesterday, I saw the first frogspawn of the season in the creek between Jeffrey’s Swag and the (still depleted) main lake. The creek is healthy, and flows again. There were one of two frogs around, but unlike the more laconic common toads, they scarper on seeing humans. This is a good sign: better days are on the way. Hello, frogs, welcome back!

February 5th – I popped to Chasewater, but the day was horrible. The snow was melting heavily, I was loaded with about 20 kilos of shopping and the day was grey and foul. Crossing back over the M6 Toll bridge on Pool Road, I noticed that Chasewater still looked quite snowy. I could also see that, beyond the innovation centre, the reservoir was beginning to refill at long last.

February 4th – I noticed as I passed through Chasewater that Jeffrey’s Swag, the north-eastern body of Chasewater bordering the railway causeway, had now refilled. Lowered considerably last year to construct a new spillway between it and Chasewater itself, it has now refilled to such a level that water is flowing from the Swag into Chasewater. This is really positive news and means that Chasewater is now being effectively fed by local streams that run into the Swag, so hopefully it will refill a tad quicker. It’s also good news for the frogs and toads that spawn in the creek between the two come spring.

January 15th – Bimbling around the western edge of Chasewater, I noted the water level in Jeffrey’s Swag was rising well. The main lake also seems to be creeping up, but the smaller pool on the northern side of the railway causeway is critical. Topped up by several creeks and streams, once filled it will be key to the return of the main body of water, as all the overspill flows into it. It’s good to see the gradual restoration of this vital habitat to some kind of normality. Sadly, the replenishing of Chasewater itself will take an awful lot longer.

Boxing day – I always head for the Chase at this time. Birches Valley cafe is usually open, and it’s great to blast off the excesses of the previous day. I travelled out via Chasewater, and cycled up the mound on Norton Bog, something I haven’t done before. The view up there is really quite good, and although it’s unseasonably springlike at the moment, it really shows we’re in the midst of winter.