April 1st – Didn’t get time to go far today. I did get to Chasewater during the dog-end of a gorgeous afternoon, however. There was a stiff breeze, but it was still relatively warm. I noticed along the canal that the hawthorn leaves were coming out, and the gradual greening of fields and woods has started in earnest. I noticed at Ogley Basin in Brownhills that the dredging equipment and silt screens from Anglesey basin were now finished with, and the stricken dredger was still in dry dock. Little dredging actually seems to have been done, so I’ve no idea what actually happened there. At Chasewater itself, access has now been opened up again to foot and bicycle traffic from the canal, and access now seems possible to the park once more. During an enjoyable hour talking to a very knowledgable old hand by the new nine-foot, I learned that the contractors will be offsite by next weekend. I also discovered that the marsh in the spillway isn’t the Sphagnum Lawn, but a different bit of preserved wetland from the old nine-foot. Whoops… must correct that on the main blog.
The works are looking pretty decent, and all that’s left to do now is a little rain dance and hope the water level rises as quickly as possible.



