End of April and early May update 2026.

 Blanket weed growth is becoming apparent especially in the section downstream from London Bridge. It is uncertain where the nutrient is coming from to stimulate the growth of blanket weed But it could be as a result of breakdown Products From material running off of the main road i.e. oil and rubber dust as well as exhaust fumes going into solution as a nitrogenous compound.

There was even a body in the brook at Gilders!  Fools watercress is rapidly becoming established in the section along by Brook Lane.

By the 3rd week in May the flow rate was very radically reduced in the Wallen Park section.

And there was some rather mysterious scum accumulating on the surface just upstream from this section, A possibility of this sort of pollution can be seen from this road drain in Gilders where something has obviously been emptied away but will inevitably find its way into the brook.

These are the plants recorded growing along the Southbrook section on May the 20th 2026.

Lawn Daisy

Male banded demoiselle.

                                                           Chenopodium. Fat Hen.

A garden escape possibly some kind of mallow.

Hedge mustard.

Horse tails.

Common Mallow.

                                                                Meadow buttercup.

                                                                 Meadowsweet.

                                           Moss growing on concrete wall above the liverworts.

                                                                 Meadowsweet on bud.

                                                               Woody or Black Nightshade.

                                                Liverworts growing on the concrete wall.

                                                                     Pendulous sedge.

Breeding Bird Survey April 2026.

 On the morning of April the 27th a breeding bird survey was carried out along the length of the brook using the birdsong recognition app Merlin. The survey started at 5:50 AM and the temperature was 9 degrees centigrade with a fine day and the sun just coming up. The survey was carried out in sections starting at the River Stort. I cannot see any point in just simply making a list of birds recorded because I think that it needs to be related to the habitat and surroundings.

River Stort to Vantorts Rd.

Whitethroat. Lesser Whitethroat. House Sparrow. Dunnock. Robin. Wren. Song Thrush. Blackcap. Woodpigeon. Chiff chaff.

These birds were typically found in the rather scrubby edge to the brook at this point bordering on the allotments with some of them typically the House Sparrow probably related to houses in Southbrook.

Vantorts to Wallen Park.

Wood pigeon. Blue Tit. Collared dove. Wren. Robin. Goldcrest? Great Tit. Jackdaw. Cuckoo? Blue tit.

Wood pigeons typically occupying the higher trees. Members of the Tit family to be expected in the proximity of gardens which may have feeders and nest boxes. Jackdaws are present generally in the area often nesting in roofs and chimneys. Goldcrest often comes up with Merlin and may be a mistaken ID. Cuckoo is a possibility because there is at least one bird present locally and Merlin often picks up sounds in the distance.

Wallen Park to London Road. 

Wren. Jackdaw. Robin. Collared dove. Wood pigeon. Blue Tit. Coal tit. Goldcrest?

This section has much in common with the previous and reflect the increasing pressure on the Brook corridor through fences and housing.

Brook Lane.

Blackbird. Blue tit. Goldfinch. Black cap. Wood pigeon. Robin.

The birds in this section reflect the green corridor flanking the lane and separating it and the brook from The Crest. This is probably providing better nesting site opportunities for birds such as the Blackbird, Blackcap and Goldfinch.

Gilders to West Road.

Goldfinch. Greenfinch. Blackbird. Wren. House Sparrow. Blackcap. Woodpigeon. Robin.

The habitat along this section is represented by the thick hedgerow corridor separating white post fields from the New West Road development. This is providing significantly important nesting habitat.

West Rd To the arable land beyond.

Collared dove. Skylark. Blackcap. Chiff chaff. Great Tit. Wren. Robin. House Sparrow. Blue Tit.

This is a good score for just a short section of habitat. The Blackthorn bushes, field Maple trees and Hazel trees are all providing good nesting habitat and it is exciting to be able to record a Skylark singing over the arable land beyond. There has traditionally been a population of House sparrows associated with the older houses, garages and gardens in West Road.

The outstanding bird which occurs in all sections is the Robin and to a lesser extent the Wren which is often overlooked.

Water quality chemical testing March 21st 2026.

 On the afternoon of Saturday 21st of March 2026 four Citizen Scientists carried out tests on water from the brook using a pro JBL Pro Aquatest pond kit. We took water samples from the Southbrook section, the section to the west of London Road and a sample from the West Road area. Water samples were tested for pH, nitrates and phosphates.

The test for pH came out as just on the alkaline side of neutral at about pH 7. as expected.

All three samples gave very low readings for nitrate and phosphate being right at the bottom end of the scale.

The conclusion is that at least at this time of the year in March the water quality is really very good with the readings for nitrate and phosphate in particular being significantly lower than those found in the main River Stort.

Monday 29th December 2025 Investigating the western branch of the Brook.

 taking advantage of the low traffic volume During the Christmas Holiday. on what is normally a busy rat run road I walked along Brook Lane to West Road and then up what used to be locally known as Clay Lane towards Crumps Farm. I suspected that the roadside pond at this same farm is the origin of the main flow on the western side of the brook. There is an overflow point at the pond and a culvert under the road with a good flow heading southwards.

The pond has ducks which people feed and there is also a shoal of large carp and the colour of the water indicates that it has a high nutrient status which must be indirectly feeding into the Brook.

Following the footpath on the south side of the road takes you to a series of old meadows previously grazed by cattle, latterly by horses and probably part of the field network for Crumps Farm. there is a network of ditches which generally lead in an easterly direction and very gradually downhill. They culminate in a clump of broken down Willow trees at the end of the long meadow where there is the site of a pond. In the author's memory this was much more open but has now largely been covered in by fallen trees. From this point the water flows down towards Clay Lane as described in the previous post and you can see the Orange Tree public house / restaurant in the distance.

Returning to Sawbridgeworth by following the network of footpaths through the arable land, I navigated to what I supposed to be the site of Hoestock Farm. This small, rather isolated farmstead was still in existence in the 1950s in the author's memory but has since been completely demolished, the only evidence that it ever existed being a spread of demolition rubbish in terms of red brick, slate etc. A map of the farm from the 1873 Ordnance Survey sheet shows the general layout and it would be interesting to make a more formal record probably through this blog.

Establishing the source of the Brook. Friday 26th December 2025.

 Starting at the point north of West Rd Where the public access to the brook ceases as it now follows the line of a hedge to the West and from here will cross into the grassy meadow previously known as Willow Mead. Follow the line of the existing footpath northwards towards Tharbies Farm. Allow at least 20 minutes for this section until you reach the buildings at Tharbies some of which have been converted into dwellings. Several of the original farm buildings remain of which the oldest is this timbered one shown.

I originally thought that the source of the Brook was at the farm pond nearby but on investigation this is not so and running water is found at the bottom of the slope from the farm buildings where it is coming in from the north through a culvert under the road. Tharbies Pond is shown first and then the culvert and Brook leading down the fields towards West Rd.

Following the road in a northerly direction you can find a small stream on the right hand side of the road which is running quite strongly through a series of bridges and crossing points which would have originally have led into the environs of the farm buildings. Several fishing ponds have been established on the other side of the fence. Following the small stream on the right hand side you will go into Trimms Lane where the flow continues to be quite strong and is obviously heavily vegetated in the growing season with Willow herb indicating damp conditions. 

At the time of this survey the channel has been cleared out which makes things a lot easier to see. Progress up the road following the roadside channel which is quite deep in places until you come to a point where there is a small tree on the right hand side by which time the flow has apparently disappeared. 

It is at this point that the site of the Moat shown on the 1873 map would have been in evidence but it has all been ploughed out and probably drained into the ditch, the only evidence is a  rise in the land in the distance and what looks like chalky boulder clay ploughed to the surface. Retracing footsteps the stream is on both sides of the road and seems to switch back and forth.

Keep on going back down the hill until you meet the point at which Sweet Dews Lane comes in on the right hand side. Progress up this lane and you will soon meet running water on the road surface which looks like another input to the Brook. This surface flooding continues for a significant distance up the hill and is on the road surface because there is no properly dugout roadside ditch. The assumption is that it is culverted under the road and meets the main flow coming in from the left.

Going back down the hill to the point where the road bends to the right towards High Wych you will find railings along the south side of the road behind which is another shallow water filled ditch opposite Tharbies  Farmhouse which is presumably also contributing to the flow of the Brook. 

At this point you have to diverge from the official footpath route to avoid having to walk across open arable land. Instead follow the line of the Brook which by this time has now sunk into a significantly deep and steep sided channel with an established badger sett in the bank.

The footpath route at this point is not well defined and the fact that there are Private Land and No Public Access signs would suggest that the land owners are not keen on public walking a proper and legal route. Locally, this area was always known as The Chase with an avenue of lime trees and it has to be assumed that the line of the footpath/bridleway follows this route but signage does not appear to be clear or welcoming. 

There is evidence of an ancient channel for the brook which can be seen to meander over the current grassland. It would seem that the Brook has been channelled away from the grassland and its original route and the bridal way or footpath now passes over a bridge and from to the lodge house at West Rd.

By disobeying the Private signs and going through a gateway to the left you can find the Brook now running down the meadows which according to the old map was called Roches Ley. 

Venturing out onto the road extreme care is advised because there is no obvious footway on either side of the road and cars travel at significant speed. Walk as quickly as possible down the hill towards the cottages on the right hand side. It is at this point that another branch of the Brook comes in from the right hand side which will be the subject of another post on this blog. It is known that the cottages on the right used to be subject to flooding and the channel of this subsidiary branch can be seen to both go under the road presumably in a culvert and also to emerge in another culvert adjacent to the cottages on the right hand side.

The main subsidiary channel of the brook is now behind the orange tree Public House / Restaurant and can next be seen opposite the farm buildings of what used to be Clay Lane Farm. It is quite obvious that this channel takes a significant flow of water because a large plastic culvert has been installed and it might be noted that there is what looks like evidence of pollution which can be investigated at a later date.

 The next picture in this post is a general view of what used to be called Willow Mead where the channel of the brook has obviously been changed and managed several times presumably because it was a wet and marshy area and has been drained in the process of agricultural improvements over the years.

There is a reminder that people have not always been on mains water in this part of Sawbridgeworth and there is all that remains of a communal water pump on the south side of the road opposite the cottages. It is assumed that the body of the hand pump has been stolen for scrap metal leaving just the broken stump of the cast iron pump barrel. It is evidence that there is sufficient water in the ground here to be made available for domestic purposes pre general water mains.