First fire, now water

Nigel by torch light, checking water levels on the pond late at night. Photo: Su Hurrell

Betley Court, like the rest of the UK, endured some pretty wet weather at the end of last week. In fact, Nigel and I became aware that our local area was receiving fairly unprecedented quantities of rain as the routes in and out of the small town we live in (about 7 miles from Betley) became impassible due to flooding. The journey to take our youngest into work, usually a 14-minute sprint, became a 45-minute slog through roads flooded by swollen streams and run-off from fields. Professor Brown’s care team also had a treacherous journey to visit him. At one point they were waved through a police cordon (due to the fact they are key workers, and providing essential services to their clients) but they had to drive on the pavement to avoid getting stuck or washed away!

Under the circumstances, Nigel thought it would be wise to go and see how the dam in the gardens at Betley Court was doing. Boy, were we glad that we did! Even before we reached the pond and dam at the bottom of the garden, it was clear a huge amount of water had fallen on the catchment area upstream. We could hear the roar of Tanhouse Brook from the path by the gazebo. This normally lazy little brook had risen by more than a foot, covering the paths with deep puddles, making us glad we’d worn wellies.

Tanhouse Brook, swollen to more than a foot higher than normal. Photo:Su Hurrell

Down by the dam, a shock was in store. Water was running straight over the dam, and in places, scouring out parts of the recently restored dam mound! We needed to open the sluice gate to relieve some of the flood water quickly.

Nigel, checking the sluice. Photo: Su Hurrell

Nigel found the enormous wrench the Browns keep for such an occasion and set about opening the sluice gate. Unfortunately, it would not budge! We scratched our heads for a bit, then went looking for pole or pipe we could use as a lever. As luck would have it, a cast iron pipe about 5-foot long had been chucked on to a pile of scrap metal, awaiting collection. Not perfect, but it might just do. We lumbered the pipe down to the dam to give it a shot.

The pipe that saved the day!

It took a few attempts – it was all very awkward trying to hold a heavy wrench, long cast iron pipe, with cold hands made slippery by the pouring rain, whilst standing in the steady flow of flood water coming over the dam. At last, Nigel nudged the locking nuts on the sluice free. We could move the gate up now.

View over the pond. Photo: Su Hurrell

The next challenge was guessing how much to open the sluice by. At first it was just important to let water out quickly, but it can’t be left like that. The pond will empty and flood the fields in the farm next door, taking all the fish and pondlife with it. We left the sluice wide open for half an hour, and went to survey the rest of the garden damage. That time allowed enough water to escape so that it wasn’t running over the top of the dam, and our aim was to let the water fall to the level of the first course of bricks in the dam wall. Nigel closed down the sluice a little, and we decided to come back later in the evening to check again.

Flood water coming over the footbridge. Photo: Su Hurrell

Armed with torches, we returned in the dark later on Saturday night. It was quite unnerving walking around the Dingle in the pitch black, and closing the sluice up in the darkness proved to be a little challenging, but the gloom made for some very atmospheric photos. And it felt as if a potential disaster had been averted.

The eel trap, more like a boiling caldron! Photo; Su Hurrell

Thinking back, Nigel could only recall one other occasion, about 30-years ago when the pond overflowed over the dam. We’ve never witnessed the brook was flowing over the footbridge further up the garden either. The thing that will stick in my mind the longest, though, is the thrumming noise that went through the heart of the dam as water thundered through it. Quite frightening really, and a sobering reminder of the power of water.