July 10th – The wind was still dreadful, and the skies were dark as I left the house mid afternoon. I again had stuff to do in Burntwood, so cut through Chasewater, which is still, despite the valves being open, only an inch or so off full.
The water level of the lake directly impacts Fly Pool and the creek that runs through it, and the boardwalk constructed over the creek itself shows a slight design fault at times of high water level.
Oh dear – but it does look wonderfully dramatic.
June 25th – Swans are inscrutable, they really are. On the Nine-Foot Pool at Chasewater, with the level still just about overflowing, a pair of birds sleep on the concrete spillway weir, seemingly oblivious to the natural plant detritus around them.
To me, the spot they doze in looks uncomfortable, chilly and precarious, but to them, it’s clearly just the right place to get some shut-eye.
Occasionally, I realise how much I don’t know about wildlife.
March 19th – Chasewater matched my mood, grey, flat and dull… But of course, it had a certain desolate charm. I noted the reservoir was still overflowing and the flowing water in the spillway was attracting a variety of wildlife – early bugs were circulating in the air, which in turn were catching the attention of wagtails and other small birds. As I took photos, a kestrel hovered, searching the wetland for anything small, squeaky and edible.
Oddly, while I was there, I didn’t see a solitary soul.
March 10th – For the first time in what I think must be two years, Chasewater is overflowing into the spillway again. That means it’s as full as it can now possibly get. From an environmental point of view, this is interesting, as during the wet winter the lake has filled from it’s tributaries, and held back their flow from the rivers Trent and Tame where they would otherwise end up – now the overspill will got into the Crane Brook, and flow several miles downstream to the Tame at Tamworth.
At the moment, the flow is fairly slight, but it’ll be interesting to see what happens in the next few days.
It’s something to note that the water is overtopping the weir fairly evenly, which is quite a testament to the engineers who constructed it: the horizontal looks just about spot on!
February 7th – A better day, but still grey and showery, with a building wind. I nipped out for a short run to Chasewater, where I noted the water level still rising and the valves still closed. It’ll be interesting to see if the powers that be let the water overflow again this year.
Over at the Chasewater Railway, I noted a new arrival – a rather unusual looking shunting engine with a very continental appearance. It’s carrying the Corus logo – once of course British Steel and now Tata – and from a little Googling I can see it’s come from the former Lackenby Steelworks, which closed a while back.
It’s an interesting thing and I’d love to know more about it. It certainly looks very powerful.
January 10th – Passing through Chasewater on the kind of bright, chilly winter day I’d been hoping for. Sadly no frost, and horrendously muddy, but I saw some deer, and on my return, a great sunset over the dam.
I noted that the water level had been boosted by the recent rain – and the sense of keeping the reservoir at a middling level became clear: the water held her now isn’t being fed into the canal system and is being stored. Were it to overflow, the surplus would go directly into the River Tame via the Crane Brook and canal overflows. This way the pressure on the river is relieved a little.
Not a bad day at all.
February 15th – This was a surprise, I must say; in the past couple of years, Chasewater has been allowed to fill overwinter to the point which it overflows, but apparently not this year. The water level has steadily risen to about 300mm (a foot) or so off full, and today, water was draining quickly into the canal from the reservoir.
I guess the Canal and River Trust must need the water for some reason – that is, after all, why Chasewater exists – but it does seem unusual. Hope they don’t draw too much down this time.
December 6th – Nice to see the water level rising at Chasewater again. The Nine-Foot Pool is linked to the main lake by a balancing culvert, below the level of the main dam channel. This is replicated at the same level by a drain culvert that’s usually closed opposite. A month ago, the water was clear of the portal, it’s now over half way up.
The depth gauge on the pier has been removed, so all I have to go on is heigh to submerged features, but I’d say we’ve gained 300-400mm in a month or so and are now about 1000mm of full. A winter’s rain will soon see that full again.
November 10th – A lunchtime at Chasewater on a beautiful late autumn day – the sun was warm on my back and the riding easy but boggy after the last two days of rains. The north heath was as gorgeous as ever, and the level does seem to be rising now the valves are closed and the creek is flowing well.
The Westie waiting outside the cafe was a dear little thing.
September 20th – Things were still grey and the air quality still dreadful, but a very, very fine rain had settled on the town as I cycled to Chasewater.
It’s good to see the old place busy now, and I love the way the Wakeline people have taken over and repurposed the old pier. Boats were speeding around, despite the murk, but I also noted the low water level – lower now than it has been for a couple of years. The valves are still open, so one assumes there’s a good reason.
Cycling back along the canal, it felt more like November than September, apart from the unseasonal warmth. Or maybe it was just a cold kicking in – at least that would explain the congestion.
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