Tockenham
Reservoir and the Water Courseways
Lyneham and Bradenstoke is situated on a chalk plateau approximately
511 feet above sea level and surprisingly enough the water
table is quite high, this may be the reason for the number
of ponds which were scattered throughout the village in the
early 1900's. This prominent water level caused the Air Ministry
a major concern when the station was been surveyed for the
future use as a storage depot in 1937.
Lyneham Court Farm which was situated in the centre of the
current military domestic estate, (Ordnance Survey grid reference:
SU 015 787) had a surrounding moat built, either as a form
of defence or just ornamental reasons following digging around
the property border.
Today, much of the military airfield grassland is quite damp
throughout the year and also the local farmers frequently
mention that the neighbouring soils are still quite moist
throughout the summer dry season, making the land suitable
for potato harvest.
Tockenham Reservoir is fed by the Lillybrook stream which
runs from the western side of Bradenstoke Priory ruins. A
small spring originates from the grass hillside adjacent to
the ruins and neighbouring site of Clack Mount, feeding the
Abbey Farm fish pond. This stream also follows its way through
Bradenstoke village along the Hollow Way road side and passes
by the former RAF Lyneham main entrance at the Bradenstoke
junction of the B4069 Chippenham Road. On the opposite side
of the road, the stream has eroded a gentle path down through
a shallow trough in the hillside towards the ford at Farthing
Lane.
The Lillybrook stream then meanders through the curving hillside
approximately 125 metres above sea level, on a very slight
gradient past Bowds Lane towards the entry point west of Tockenham
Reservoir.
This beautiful 12.5 acre lake is surrounded by oak woodland,
was created in 1836 to provide water for the Wilts and Berks
Canal. This reservoir was later abandoned when the Swindon
section of the canal was closed in 1914. By 1968 the section
in Lyneham had been revived for boating and fishing purposes.
Purchased by Bristol, Bath and Wiltshire Amalgamated Angler's
in 1980 it has since been developed into a magnificent fishery
stocked with carp to 30lb, tench to 7lb, bream to 8lb, plus
roach, perch and crucian carp. All fishing is from platforms,
including three purpose built for the wheelchair disabled,
and there are good parking facilities. Currently the Bristol,
Bath & Wiltshire Amalgamated Angler's Club protect and
enforce the fishing byelaws within the reservoir. For further
information on the reservoir click
here
The Strings
...
Groundwater.
Groundwater is the term used to describe the water stored
underground in areas of permeable rocks, known as aquifers.
Lyneham's chalk plateau is considered a good source of groundwater
for the mainland. Groundwater is an important water resource
that we need to protect from pollution. Aquifers hold at least
20 times more water than all our surface reservoirs. Despite
the rainfall shortages over a seventeen month period from
October 2004 to April 2006 in which the usual monthly rainfall
was well below the 30 year average, the predominant water
table of the Lyneham Chalk plateau remained affluent of underground
water. Groundwater provides three-quarters of public water
supplies in the south of England. This water is also ecologically
important as any wetlands, lakes and rivers depend on it.
Often groundwater is out of sight and therefore out of mind.
It can be very vulnerable to pollution. Unlike a river, once
an underground water resource is polluted – whether
by chemicals applied to farmland or through chemical spills
and leaks – it remains contaminated for many decades
and is costly or impossible to clean up. There has been two
major concerns in the community where the streams and an outlying
farm pond was found to be polluted. In February 2005 a
substance was found in the water courseway of The Strings,
in which the Environment Agency carried out a thorough investigation
for the source of contamination, it was found to originate
from problem piping within the ministry estate.
Groundwater is mainly replenished by winter rainfall. Lower
winter temperatures mean less evaporation from the ground,
and plants take up less water as they grow less in the shorter
daylight hours. This process is termed 'groundwater recharge'.
Groundwater droughts occur when the amount of recharge in
the winter is low. Dry summers also contribute to groundwater
impact less. Springs and some rivers are naturally fed by
groundwater. This is often important for wetlands and their
ecosystems. |
