# Carshalton Park photos



## brogdale (Jan 16, 2014)

Occasionally, in very wet weather, the old, ornamental canal features in Carshalton Park and beyond, through the village, down to Westcroft fill up to reveal something of their former glory. The recent very wet weather has caused them to fill impressively so I took a few pics. I've also included a few 'normal', dry views to compare...

Firstly looking N. from the road bridge on Ruskin road down the Carshalton Place canal:-







...which usually looks like this:-






Then looking S. from the same bridge up the canal towards the Grotto at the S. end of the park:-






...which normally looks like this:-






...and looking N. from the Grotto itself:-






....and the usual view would look like...






Finally, the "Hog pit" pond, (if any of you have been to the fireworks display you'll know the depression where the giant bonfire is held), turned into a pond again...






...normally a dry hollow...








Tomorrow I'm hoping to get down to Honeywood Museum in the village to see if the spring-fed pond known as Margaret's pond in the garden has filled up. If it has I'll try to get some more pics. For those interested "Margaret's Well" is an early example of environmental rehabilitation; in 1876 John Ruskin had the pond cleaned, reclaimed and beautified and (re)named the spring-fed, feeder to the Wandle after his mother, Margaret who came from a family of publicans in Croydon!


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## Dan U (Jan 16, 2014)

don't think i've ever seen them look like that, certainly not the Hog Pit (or knew it was called that even!)

nice one!


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## TopCat (Jan 16, 2014)

The ponds get some unusual users, not just cars being driven into them but elephants too. This is from 1900


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## Callie (Jan 16, 2014)

OH wow, thanks brogdale thats amazing! I might have to pop round there to have a look myself if the weather is OK at the weekend.

Is Margaret's Well the bit near the road along a bit from St Philomena's? Before you get to Carshalton Ponds proper? I recall them doing a lot of work in that bit clearing a lot of the plants etc


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## Tankus (Jan 16, 2014)

This is the way every communities should deal with surface water run off , rather than overload the sewer's and threaten downstream residences .

Nice public space too ...double win


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## brogdale (Jan 16, 2014)

Callie said:


> OH wow, thanks brogdale thats amazing! I might have to pop round there to have a look myself if the weather is OK at the weekend.
> 
> Is Margaret's Well the bit near the road along a bit from St Philomena's? Before you get to Carshalton Ponds proper? I recall them doing a lot of work in that bit clearing a lot of the plants etc



Yeah, that's it right on the corner, on the roundabout...






In this google street image I don't think it's possible to pick out the memorial stone to Ruskin's mother, but from memory I think it's just down behind that temporary sign on the railings.

According to Bob Steel, from his excellent "River Wandle Companion" , the stone was actually installed, against Ruskin's wishes, by a local historian called George Brightling. The inscription on the stone reads:-



> *In obedience to the Giver of Life, of the brooks and fruits that feed it, of the peace that ends it, may this well be kept sacred for the service of men, flocks, and flowers, and be by kindness called MARGARET'S WELL.
> This pool was beautified and endowed by John Ruskin; M.A., L.L.D. *


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## Dan U (Jan 16, 2014)

got to love Bob Steels book selection. big up Bob 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bob-Steel/e/B0034OOMHG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1


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## brogdale (Jan 16, 2014)

Dan U said:


> got to love Bob Steels book selection. big up Bob
> 
> http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bob-Steel/e/B0034OOMHG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1


 As I said before, it is a really good book; highly recommended, especially for those of us who live near/like to walk the Wandle.
The real joy of the guide chapters is the inclusion of excerpts of old (late 19thC & early 20thC) maps, alongside their modern counterparts. Fascinating stuff.

Big up Bob indeed!


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## Dan U (Jan 16, 2014)

brogdale said:


> As I said before, it is a really good book; highly recommended, especially for those of us who live near/like to walk the Wandle.
> The real joy of the guide chapters is the inclusion of excerpts of old (late 19thC & early 20thC) maps, alongside their modern counterparts. Fascinating stuff.
> 
> Big up Bob indeed!



I will most certainly get it at some point, as we've discussed i spent a lot of time in Wallington - school, living and working and know the Wandle well.


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## brogdale (Jan 16, 2014)

Dan U said:


> I will most certainly get it at some point, as we've discussed i spent a lot of time in Wallington - school, living and working and know the Wandle well.


 Presumably your cross-country runs went over the thing a few times?


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## Dan U (Jan 16, 2014)

Heh. Yeah. And smoked a few things on the island in the middle of it in the park


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## Dan U (Jan 16, 2014)

Those fucking runs though. Christ.


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## brogdale (Jan 16, 2014)

Dan U said:


> Those fucking runs though. Christ.


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## brogdale (Jan 18, 2014)

brogdale said:


> Tomorrow I'm hoping to get down to Honeywood Museum in the village to see if the spring-fed pond known as Margaret's pond in the garden has filled up. If it has I'll try to get some more pics. For those interested "Margaret's Well" is an early example of environmental rehabilitation; in 1876 John Ruskin had the pond cleaned, reclaimed and beautified and (re)named the spring-fed, feeder to the Wandle after his mother, Margaret who came from a family of publicans in Croydon!



OK, so I did get along to Margaret's Well at Honeywood, and the well was obviously alive and...well, well!






I took this photo just above the inscription stone mentioned earlier, (up-thread), and here it is:-

First in colour, and then I thought it might be easier to read in B&W...











Whilst down in the village I did take a few shots of the, now full, Westcroft canal. I think the last time this properly flooded was nearly 15 years ago. The canal was built to provide water for the overshoot water-wheel that powered the old, 19thC iron works that stood on the site of the present Westcroft sports centre in Grove Park.






In this pic you can see the water flowing from the pipes laid under the High Street (between the wars) into the canal. Previously the water had flowed along the side of the street.






Finally, this is the end of the canal, (round the back of the sports centre) where the canal flows into the Wandle proper, and this fall marks the spot of the old over-shoot water wheel of the iron works:-






An image of the old iron works:-






Oh, and just for fun....further round in Grove Park there is the Wandle 'waterfall' that flows out of The Ponds; I don't think I've seen it so full...


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## TopCat (Jan 19, 2014)

Excellent thread.


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## Callie (Jan 19, 2014)

Lots of these bits are part of the Wandle Walk I like to do from Waddon Ponds to Carshalton Ponds. I should get out there and do it today really as the sun is actually making an appearance but Ive got too much stuff to do at home  Maybe we should have an urban Wandle stroll one day?


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## brogdale (Jan 19, 2014)

Callie said:


> Lots of these bits are part of the Wandle Walk I like to do from Waddon Ponds to Carshalton Ponds. I should get out there and do it today really as the sun is actually making an appearance but Ive got too much stuff to do at home  Maybe we should have an urban Wandle stroll one day?



Sorry you were too tied up to get out there today. There'll be other days Callie.

Have to say that I share your passion for the dear old Wandle; I honestly think that I walk parts of it most days and recently it's been interesting to note its response to the rainfall events. In fact you've got me thinking that i might rename the thread something like "The Wandle thread", because I'm bound to want to post pics of other parts of the river/catchment, and I'm sure that other might like to as well. Waddya think?


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## Callie (Jan 20, 2014)

Thats a good idea I think, the Wandle is a great place for bird spotting too although Im crap at taking pictures of fast moving feathered things.


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## TopCat (Jan 20, 2014)

I think a Wandle thread would be great. I am a bit obsessed with the dear old Wandle and have quite a few pictures etc.


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## Dan U (Jan 20, 2014)

bit of urban exploration relating to the Wandle

http://www.silentuk.com/writeups/wandle.html

http://derelictex.wordpress.com/2007/09/29/river-wandle-croydon/

someone else did similar under Purley Way around Waddon but i can't find it atm


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## Callie (Jan 20, 2014)

Dan U said:


> bit of urban exploration relating to the Wandle
> 
> http://www.silentuk.com/writeups/wandle.html
> 
> ...


I dunno about you but Im not overly excited about drains  especially boring ones. Theyve opened out the Wandle section through Wandle Park now and the council are looking to encourage more people to use the park. Theres a new play area, the rivery bits, the skate park, a bandstand and theyre opening a cafe there too.



I went not long after they reopened the park with the rivery bits erm working? and it was OK but the water was very shallow. I expect its all filled up now so maybe the lake bit (was all just dry, low bits) is fully functioning now with the rain? Another place to go and have a look at. I have tried to include Wandle Park in my Wandle walk before but you have the Purley Way smack bang through the middle and its not very scenic!


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## existentialist (Jan 20, 2014)

I can remember going to that park as a kid, and being told that there had been an unexploded bomb that landed on/in/near the waterwheel. No idea if it was true, or just one of those bits of accepted wisdom you hear from grownups, but it lent the place an aura of danger and mystery that it held for a long time.


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## Dan U (Jan 20, 2014)

Callie said:


> I dunno about you but Im not overly excited about drains  especially boring ones. T





the thing i was after - but it seems to be down or perhaps was on an urbex site i am long banned from - was a bit more than drains as such, iirc the river got sent under Purley Way from Waddon Ponds and the underground element was massive with loads of stalagtytes (the down ones, prob got that wrong)

my Step Dad was in that park the other day btw as he is working near by, it was very very wet apparently.


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## Callie (Jan 20, 2014)

tights hang down


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## brogdale (Jan 20, 2014)

existentialist said:


> I can remember going to that park as a kid, and being told that there had been an unexploded bomb that landed on/in/near the waterwheel. No idea if it was true, or just one of those bits of accepted wisdom you hear from grownups, but it lent the place an aura of danger and mystery that it held for a long time.



No mention of it in this history page, but then it might be less than exhaustive.

Good pic of the 1967 culveting of the river:-


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## Dan U (Jan 20, 2014)

i think this might be a rival for this site 

http://www.urbantrout.net/tag/wandle/


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## brogdale (Jan 20, 2014)

Dan U said:


> the thing i was after - but it seems to be down or perhaps was on an urbex site i am long banned from - was a bit more than drains as such, iirc the river got sent under Purley Way from Waddon Ponds and the underground element was massive with loads of stalagtytes (the down ones, prob got that wrong)
> 
> my Step Dad was in that park the other day btw as he is working near by, it was very very wet apparently.



The direction of flow of the Croydon Wandle towards Wandle Park is from the SE, under Roman Way. For many centuries the Croydon Wandle rose from springs near to the 'Swan & Sugarloaf' flowing North roughly along Southbridge road with the bloody great fly-over spanning the old valley of the river. Just to the North it used to fill the fishponds of the Archbishop's palace and then on towards the present-day wandle Park.


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## existentialist (Jan 20, 2014)

Fascinating thread: my mum grew up in Camden Road, and her family were generally around that part of the world, so lots of intriguing, if not exactly fond, memories...


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## Callie (Jan 20, 2014)

existentialist said:


> I can remember going to that park as a kid, and being told that there had been an unexploded bomb that landed on/in/near the waterwheel. No idea if it was true, or just one of those bits of accepted wisdom you hear from grownups, but it lent the place an aura of danger and mystery that it held for a long time.


Do you mean there was an alleged unexploded bomb in Wandle Park, Croydon or Beddington Park, Sutton? or The Grove in Sutton even


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## existentialist (Jan 20, 2014)

Callie said:


> Do you mean there was an alleged unexploded bomb in Wandle Park, Croydon or Beddington Park, Sutton? or The Grove in Sutton even


I dunno. I was about 7. But I thought it was something to do with the waterwheel in Carshalton Park.

Looking that up, what I did discover was that there was a huge air raid shelter under the park, which was only properly discovered well after I was 7 - so perhaps someone was confusing two stories.


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## brogdale (Jan 20, 2014)

Callie said:


> I dunno about you but Im not overly excited about drains  especially boring ones. Theyve opened out the Wandle section through Wandle Park now and the council are looking to encourage more people to use the park. Theres a new play area, the rivery bits, the skate park, a bandstand and theyre opening a cafe there too.
> 
> View attachment 46817
> 
> I went not long after they reopened the park with the rivery bits erm working? and it was OK but the water was very shallow. I expect its all filled up now so maybe the lake bit (was all just dry, low bits) is fully functioning now with the rain? Another place to go and have a look at. I have tried to include Wandle Park in my Wandle walk before but you have the Purley Way smack bang through the middle and its not very scenic!


 Inspired by your posts, (Dan & Callie), i took myself off to Wandle Park this afternoon realising that I'd not actually seen what they'd done to rennovate the park/river. Have to say I think they've done well to 're-discover' the course of the Wandle through the park, and the boating lake/bandstand area looked pretty good even in winter.

Inevitably...(no groaning at the back, please)...I took a couple of photos...

The river entering Wandle Park...(with the elevated tram-line and Roman Way in the background)







and gently meandering in it's 'new' course...(looking roughly East)






and then leaving the park, towards the West to be culverted under the new(ish) "South Quarter" housing development, the Purley Way and the industrial estate to the North of Waddon Ponds...






The Wandle finally remerges from it's culvert a couple of hundred metres West of Waddon Ponds into the pleasant section of the Wandle Trail alongside Richmond Green...


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## existentialist (Jan 20, 2014)

To me, the Wandle was for a long time, the bit of water by the papermill just opposite Merton Bus Garage. I didn't even think it was a river, just this turgid drain that was always covered in a thick, rich, yellowy foam. I was astonished when someone pointed at a little brook somewhere and said "That's the River Wandle, there...".

The papermill's now (or was) a Savacentre. And the bit behind that was restored and became a market area and craft type place, in the buildings of an old mill. It was rather pleasant. </nostalgia>


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## brogdale (Jan 22, 2014)

existentialist said:


> To me, the Wandle was for a long time, the bit of water by the papermill just opposite Merton Bus Garage. I didn't even think it was a river, just this turgid drain that was always covered in a thick, rich, yellowy foam. I was astonished when someone pointed at a little brook somewhere and said "That's the River Wandle, there...".
> 
> The papermill's now (or was) a Savacentre. And the bit behind that was restored and became a market area and craft type place, in the buildings of an old mill. It was rather pleasant. </nostalgia>


 And to think that, in the late 1880s, Lexden Pocock painted that stretch of the river like this:-


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## brogdale (Jan 22, 2014)

I'm afraid I haven't yet worked out how to change the title of this thread to a more general "Wandle appreciation" one. Any tips?

Howsomedever...today was nice & bright...so I took a few pics around and about Beddington.

First up a view of St. Mary's Church, Beddington. The Wandle flows in a diversion around the church precincts,(and Carew Manor), to the North. I'm no great fan of churches, but I've always thought this one rather lovely in its own way, and gives Beddington a living glimpse of it's past:-






Looking Westwards from here it is still possible to pick out where the Manor's 19thC ornamental lake lay. The flat depression between the trees shows that a large part of the Northern section of Beddington Park would have been under water:-






Just to the North lies Canon Bridges' bridge, where the Wandle meanders pleasantly through the park:-






Whilst down in Beddington I decided to nip up to the 'new' roadbridge at Hackbridge to take a few pics of the "Beddington Farmlands". The 'farm' bit of the farmlands title really meaning (former) sewage farm! Nevertheless, the area is an amazing wildlife sanctuary in the urban sprawl of South London. Potentially the farmlands could well become on of the jewels of the WVRP. Here a few views, some showing the birdies...











and this one with Croydon town in the background!






and just for Callie ...


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## Dan U (Jan 31, 2014)

so i was driving up the A24 last weekend and just after Tooting and Mitcham FC I crossed the Wandle and their appeared to be a lovely old weatherboard building in the little nature park next to the road. Anyone know anything about it/was I imagining it?

I've driven over that bridge many many times but I am paying a bit more attention to the Wandle now thanks to this thread!

I was roughly here but pesky trees block google maps view

http://goo.gl/maps/aFj7O


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## cybertect (Feb 2, 2014)

Brogdale's pics in the OP seem to have disappeared, but I took a few today.

Quite amazing how much water is flowing down the canal cut. I don't think I remember it ever being this full and I've been living in the area for most of the last 40 years.




Carshalton Park Canal by cybertect, on Flickr




Hog Pit, Carshalton Park by cybertect, on Flickr




Carshalton Park Grotto by cybertect, on Flickr


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## cybertect (Feb 2, 2014)

As we have a Wandle Appreciation thread, heres a few more pics




The Lower Pond, Carshalton by cybertect, on Flickr




Carshalton Ponds and The Greyhound by cybertect, on Flickr




The Wandle at Carshalton by cybertect, on Flickr




Wandle Waterfall by cybertect, on Flickr

and a little further afield

Just by where Dan U was asking about earlier.




Wandle Meadow Nature Park by cybertect, on Flickr

Earlsfield




A Little Green [RGB] by cybertect, on Flickr

Wandsworth




Argento Tower by cybertect, on Flickr




The Ram Brewery by cybertect, on Flickr




Bell Lane Creek by cybertect, on Flickr


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## Dan U (Feb 2, 2014)

Nice one cybertect wonder what it looks like today. The river mole near me is seriously flooded


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## cybertect (Feb 2, 2014)

. Mis-posted


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## brogdale (Feb 2, 2014)

cybertect said:


> . Mis-posted


 Excellent pics; thanks for sharing and replacing those of mine that have gone missing. Damn that photobucket; it seems as though you only have to open the edit function to see the lot moved/made private etc.


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## cybertect (Feb 3, 2014)

FWIW, I think when you edit a photo on Photobucket, it changes the URL.

Just to underline how much water is flowing down this usually completely dry stretch of the Wandle, this is the waterfall on Carshalton Place, just off the High Street




Waterfall, Carshalton Place by cybertect, on Flickr


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## brogdale (Feb 9, 2014)

cybertect said:


> FWIW, I think when you edit a photo on Photobucket, it changes the URL.
> 
> Just to underline how much water is flowing down this usually completely dry stretch of the Wandle, this is the waterfall on Carshalton Place, just off the High Street
> 
> ...


 Excellent pic Cyber......and yesterday that lower channel, by the High Street, had over-flowed onto the road, into the street and over down to Westcroft....


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## RubyToogood (Feb 11, 2014)

Just testing, this may not work... the mill race at Merton Abbey Mills today.


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## RubyToogood (Feb 11, 2014)

Also Waddon Ponds last week.


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## Dan U (Feb 11, 2014)

video removed RubyToogood


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## Callie (Feb 11, 2014)

Dan U said:


> video removed RubyToogood


i watched it 

eeee at waddon ponds, nice for the ducks maybe?


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## lizzieloo (Feb 11, 2014)

Why can't I see brogdale's photos?


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## brogdale (Feb 11, 2014)

lizzieloo said:


> Why can't I see brogdale's photos?



Sorry Lizzie, I did something to my privacy settings in Photobucket, and I can't seem to undo it now.


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## brogdale (Feb 11, 2014)

RubyToogood said:


> Also Waddon Ponds last week.
> 
> View attachment 48347


 That car park over the back of the pond is spectacularly ugly; nearly as bad as the one near Purley Oaks station.


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## Dan U (Feb 11, 2014)

Always wandered what it was for tbh


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## TopCat (Feb 11, 2014)

I have never seen such flow in the Wandle near Morden Hall Park. I will get some pics in the morning. It's overflowing the banks in the park and the nearby weirs are a mad rushing torrent.


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## Callie (Feb 11, 2014)

brogdale said:


> That car park over the back of the pond is spectacularly ugly; nearly as bad as the one near Purley Oaks station.


I like it  its kooky 

So my Mum was saying tonight that she thinks/has heard that the Bourne in Caterham/Whyteleaf joins up with the wet bits in Carshalton somewhere around Purley GigantiTesco and its all feeds into the Wandle.

Can anyone confirm or deny that? I know the Bourne is mostly underground but is there a map or something of where it goes and where it comes from?

ALSO I now want to go and see what Norbury Brook is up to as I used to live on a road right next to it and it always seemed pretty weedy but maybe given the circumstances it could be problematic.


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## TopCat (Feb 11, 2014)

Callie said:


> I like it  its kooky
> 
> So my Mum was saying tonight that she thinks/has heard that the Bourne in Caterham/Whyteleaf joins up with the wet bits in Carshalton somewhere around Purley GigantiTesco and its all feeds into the Wandle.
> 
> ...



I used to wander the Norbury Brook in my wellies as a kid. As it's channelised, (enclosed by concrete walls) it goes from a dribble to a fuck off torrent in minutes in a heavy rain. Scary as fuck if you are in the western tunnel sections. 

The Bourne does get going at Purley. Any real news about the water treatment plant the "pond" is supposed to be protecting?


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## Callie (Feb 11, 2014)

? is this the bit down on Brighton Road, near the dump? My Mum (bringer off all the good weather news) was saying if the pit pool thing overflows they'll have to close the road as there are chemicals that are bad or something. Shutting the Brighton Road would be....interesting.


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## TopCat (Feb 11, 2014)

Have any of you been to Wandle Park since Boris gave up a million to do it up and get the Wandle back onto the surface? I have seen it from the tram and it looked like they had physically cut huge banks into the park that had a pissy dribble sitting about getting manky. This was  a park that no one went to apart from the occasional organised gang fight. (No road access for police).


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## brogdale (Feb 11, 2014)

Callie said:


> I like it  its kooky
> 
> So my Mum was saying tonight that she thinks/has heard that the Bourne in Caterham/Whyteleaf joins up with the wet bits in Carshalton somewhere around Purley GigantiTesco and its all feeds into the Wandle.
> 
> Can anyone confirm or deny that? I know the Bourne is mostly underground but is there a map or something of where it goes and where it comes from?



Not quite right Callie. The Croydon Wandle and Carshalton Wandle join in Hackbridge at Wilderness Island. Normally the Caterham/Whyteleafe element of the old (wider) Wandle are little more than trickles in ditches/culverts, but the full extent of the Wandle is emerging with this record-breaking rain and extremely high water table. There are a few unculverted parts like the stream past Roke school, the Promary Pond at the recycling centre at Purley Oaks etc., but for the most part the river remains hidden under culverts until it (now) emerges briefly in Wandle Park. Thereafter it can be seen past Waddon Ponds and pretty much all the way through Beddington down to Hackbridge.


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## brogdale (Feb 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Have any of you been to Wandle Park since Boris gave up a million to do it up and get the Wandle back onto the surface? I have seen it from the tram and it looked like they had physically cut huge banks into the park that had a pissy dribble sitting about getting manky. This was  a park that no one went to apart from the occasional organised gang fight. (No road access for police).


 It's actually been done rather well IMO. Quite a nice place to be...now!


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## Callie (Feb 11, 2014)

brogdale said:


> Not quite right Callie. The Croydon Wandle and Carshalton Wandle join in Hackbridge at Wilderness Island. Normally the Caterham/Whyteleafe element of the old (wider) Wandle are little more than trickles in ditches/culverts, but the full extent of the Wandle is emerging with this record-breaking rain and extremely high water table. There are a few unculverted parts like the stream past Roke school, the Promary Pond at the recycling centre at Purley Oaks etc., but for the most part the river remains hidden under culverts until it (now) emerges briefly in Wandle Park. Thereafter it can be seen past Waddon Ponds and pretty much all the way through Beddington down to Hackbridge.



ahh ok. Promary pond at the recycling centre probably is the pool pit thing near the dump


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## TopCat (Feb 11, 2014)

Callie said:


> ? is this the bit down on Brighton Road, near the dump? My Mum (bringer off all the good weather news) was saying if the pit pool thing overflows they'll have to close the road as there are chemicals that are bad or something. Shutting the Brighton Road would be....interesting.



http://tinyurl.com/q785ss6

They are battling around the clock to save the water supply to thousands.


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## brogdale (Feb 11, 2014)

Callie said:


> ? is this the bit down on Brighton Road, near the dump? My Mum (bringer off all the good weather news) was saying if the pit pool thing overflows they'll have to close the road as there are chemicals that are bad or something. Shutting the Brighton Road would be....interesting.



I took a few pics there the day after it had started to overflow onto the Brighton Road down through Purley Oaks...


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## Dan U (Feb 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> Have any of you been to Wandle Park since Boris gave up a million to do it up and get the Wandle back onto the surface? I have seen it from the tram and it looked like they had physically cut huge banks into the park that had a pissy dribble sitting about getting manky. This was  a park that no one went to apart from the occasional organised gang fight. (No road access for police).



My step dad goes to it regularly to walk his guide dog when he is at work with my mum. They said it's much nicer but his dog is obsessed with jumping in water so it's also a fucking nightmare


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## brogdale (Feb 11, 2014)

Callie said:


> ahh ok. Promary pond at the recycling centre probably is the pool pit thing near the dump


Sorry typo....they call it Primary pond...apparently? Locals probably have a better name though!


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## brogdale (Feb 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> http://tinyurl.com/q785ss6
> 
> They are battling around the clock to save the water supply to thousands.


Hey TC, quite alot on this in the Worst storm 5000 years thread.


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## TopCat (Feb 11, 2014)

Dan U said:


> My step dad goes to it regularly to walk his guide dog when he is at work with my mum. They said it's much nicer but his dog is obsessed with jumping in water so it's also a fucking nightmare


The toilets were a cruise joy/nightmare back in the day when they were still open.


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## RubyToogood (Feb 11, 2014)

Dan U said:


> video removed RubyToogood


I dragged it from Facebook but hadn't made it public, so that's prob why Callie could see it but not you. Let's try again:


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## RubyToogood (Feb 11, 2014)

brogdale said:


> That car park over the back of the pond is spectacularly ugly; nearly as bad as the one near Purley Oaks station.


I quite like it. It's kind of retro. Also, I thought it was a factory or a vehicle works or something.


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## Dan U (Feb 11, 2014)

RubyToogood said:


> I dragged it from Facebook but hadn't made it public, so that's prob why Callie could see it but not you. Let's try again:




Wow. Don't remember ever seeing it like that!


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## RubyToogood (Feb 11, 2014)

Dan U said:


> Wow. Don't remember ever seeing it like that!


To be fair that's partly because it's the mill race. It's calmer away from the mill, but it's still very full and very fast flowing. I look forward to TopCat's pics at Morden Hall Park! Can you take a video for comparison purposes?


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## TopCat (Feb 11, 2014)

RubyToogood said:


> To be fair that's partly because it's the mill race. It's calmer away from the mill, but it's still very full and very fast flowing. I look forward to TopCat's pics at Morden Hall Park! Can you take a video for comparison purposes?


I will get some film in the morning. Where the weir is at Ravensbury park entering Morden Hall Park the flow is amazing and the noise is incredible.


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## brogdale (Feb 11, 2014)

TopCat said:


> I will get some film in the morning. Where the weir is at Ravensbury park entering Morden Hall Park the flow is amazing and the noise is incredible.


 Look forward to seeing that.

So far.....the Wandle appears to be doing remarkably well....(click on Green dots just North of word Sutton)...

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/136483.aspx


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## RubyToogood (Feb 11, 2014)

brogdale said:


> Look forward to seeing that.
> 
> So far.....the Wandle appears to be doing remarkably well....(click on Green dots just North of word Sutton)...
> 
> http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/136483.aspx


Hm, some of those dots are within the "possibility of flooding" range though  Carshalton Ponds and Hackbridge just, and Wandle Park (Merton) quite far in it.


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## brogdale (Feb 11, 2014)

RubyToogood said:


> Hm, some of those dots are within the "possibility of flooding" range though  Carshalton Ponds and Hackbridge just, and Wandle Park (Merton) quite far in it.


 Yeah, Hackbridge has been on the cusp for some time, but...considering what's been happening upstream etc.....not doing badly; so far.


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## TopCat (Feb 12, 2014)

Well the Wandle is rising fast and the flow is higher than I have ever seen.

I took the footage just at the exit to Ravensbury Park.


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## TopCat (Feb 12, 2014)




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## TopCat (Feb 12, 2014)




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## Callie (Feb 12, 2014)

TopCat said:


>




eep! I came home from work via Mitcham Junction and  I had a look at Wandle Park. It was boring!  The water if flowing faster and deeper than Ive ever seen it but it doesnt look scary because the cut that the water goes through is so deep and wide. I tried to take pictures from the tram but they were rubbish.


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## Chz (Feb 14, 2014)

I did go over to see the mill run behind the leisure centre yesterday. Whoah!  For something that's normally bone dry, even after a downpour, that's a lot of water. It's even dug under the concrete wall that's supposed to channel it nicely down a run and is just pouring out next to the dry run.


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## brogdale (Feb 14, 2014)

Chz said:


> I did go over to see the mill run behind the leisure centre yesterday. Whoah!  For something that's normally bone dry, even after a downpour, that's a lot of water. It's even dug under the concrete wall that's supposed to channel it nicely down a run and is just pouring out next to the dry run.


 Yeah, there's alot of water flowing under (and over at times) the road from the Park down Carshalton Place into the old canal! You get the real impression of the power that was used by the mill's over-shoot water wheel.

I'd imagine that after today's rain there'll be real problems with the water flowing across the High Street.


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## _pH_ (Feb 17, 2014)

If anyone's interested, there's a clean up day on the Wandle and surrounding areas on Sunday March 9th in Mitcham. Flier attached.


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## cybertect (Jun 15, 2014)

A little update...

After a surprisingly long period full of water, the ornamental canal in Carshalton Park has dried up




Dry Canal by cybertect, on Flickr

The waterfall at The Grove is still quite lively, though




Waterfall at The Grove by cybertect, on Flickr


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## brogdale (Dec 24, 2019)

Went on my trad. Xmas eve walk (to the pub) and noticed that it's back!


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