Iford Bridge concerns

 Widening and prolific cracks in an ancient bridge.  Is that a good thing, maintenance-wise?

It belongs to English Heritage.
It is administered by Bath and North East Somerset Council.
It is at Iford.

Just asking.

Hydro-electric project: weeks 3, 4 & 5

It has been fascinating to watch the speed with which our civil engineers and contractors, Suttle, have been able to undertake the work.  With a '360' excavator and a dumper truck, you can turn a seemingly solid structure into a hole in a matter of days.  Astonishing.


But first, I mentioned before the need to repair the weir, and to include fish and eel ladders.

The bulk of the repairs are now complete (above, week 3, with the concrete beam half-cast), the fish and eel ladders in place, and the concrete beam which raises the river height a little has now been poured (week 4, below):

I'd say it's a work of modernist beauty - and it's not often I compliment concrete.  It was clear to see that the site manager was proud of the result too, which is always a good sign I think.  Here it is with water flowing over it:

Because the team is now into the phase of construction where they will repair the mill leet, they have shuttered the river such that the weir is now taking the full flow.  And doesn't it look spectacular?

And at the downstream level, work has commenced to create the hole for the enormous trough for the archimedean screw (replacing the former eel trap seeing in the last update's images).  Aggregate was brought in to offer a slipway down to the river, and downstream shuttering now holds back the waters.  Here is the 360 about to drive, with earth-shuddering power, a shuttering pile straight through the gravel, into the river bed.  Thankfully there are very few rocks in the river here, so it's fairly easy going (if you are an excavator that is).

And now, the eel trap has been ripped out, and we just have a large hole developing, into which the concrete trough will be cast.

It is proving to be as intriguing and exciting as we had hoped.

Hydro-electric project: weeks 1 & 2

##Note: I had intended to post this on 6 August, when I wrote it, but I pushed the wrong button and it ended up in drafts, so it's 2 weeks out of date.  Another update this weekend, therefore, is on its way for week's 3 and 4.##

One of the most exciting projects in the valley is the construction of a hydro-electric plant in the former eel-trap (below) beside the weir (above).

Once complete, the system should generate enough energy to power between 10 and 15 homes (although the electricity will be sold to the grid initially at least) without impacting the local environment negatively at all.

It has always seemed daft to us that we have this powerful resource running through the valley which is essentially unharnessed.  Indeed, the river at Iford has a long history of providing power in the past: originally Iford Mill had an undershot wheel, and it was in the 1930s or so that this was modified to power an early electricity generator.  This was removed in the 1960s since the valley had been added to the grid (to the great satisfaction of residents who no longer had to contend with brown-outs and having to remove sheep, big-bales, and general river detritus from the grille in front of the generator).  And so, after 50 years or so, the river will be returning to work.

For information on the mills in the area, try this excellent book: Wiltshire and Somerset Woollen Mills, Kenneth Rogers

With permissions received and paperwork signed-off, we have excitedly watched as the civil engineering work has begun.  A benefit of this scheme is that it has provided the perfect opportunity to undertake repairs to the weir and mill leet, and whilst the Dutch firm Spaans-Babcock are manufacturing our 10ft diameter Archimedean screw, the repairs are underway first.
Above, the mill leet before clearing, and below a girder bridge is put in to access the weir with heavy plant.

And here's some of the land-based plant with a gratuitous advert for Suttle's, our contractor.

A collapse some years ago through undercutting has been used to create a fish-ladder as requested by the environment agency, and we are also creating an eel-pass which will assist the passage of elvers upstream; these measures should provide a positive benefit to the natural inhabitants of the river through the diversion of much of the water through the screw.
Below, the fish ladder during construction - it looks a lot better after it's finished apparently.

We'll report as the project takes shape, but having had five power cuts in the last three months, it is an exciting prospect to know that self-sufficiency will be just a cable's-run away in the future should we need to resort to that!
Above, the weir, dried out for inspection, before the major work commenced.

3-to-tea returns

With the opera season now over for 2011, and to wide acclaim I might add, Iford returns to being more of a full-time garden, less a mixed-use venue.  But music isn't out altogether; far from it.  It brings us great pleasure to see the return of 3-to-tea, our series of concerts given by amateur and semi-professional musicians on Sunday afternoons in August.

The short recitals are free to garden visitors (just pay the normal garden entry), and provide a fabulous opportunity for anyone from aspiring young artists through to more experienced players to come and enjoy playing in an informal setting to a warm and very receptive audience.

Last Sunday Felicity Courage brought her group, the Courage Choir, to make merry music in the cloister and visitors were treated to a happy hour of song from this talented group of young singers.  We hope that perhaps there are some stars of the future amongst them - remember us when you're famous!