After several grey days of leaden skies and rain it was great to escape to the Welsh Harp and Fryent Country Park today when there was a glimmer of something that resembled sunshine at times. Of course I got caught in a thundery shower with hail stones on the way home but that's the way the pickle squirts.
The Harp is being drained to enable maintenance works to be carried out on the dam. The low water level has enabled volunteers to collect litter and other materials dumped in the waters. Today a volunteer swan rescue group were checking out the swans now confined to the original river that was dammed. Its meandering course can be clearly seen.
Fish have been removed and the reservoir will be restocked once works are completed.
The danger of sinking in the treacherous mud is real - keep off.
The meander visible here
Debris under Cool Oak Bridge
Flooding at Cool Oak Lane
Philip Grant has also visited the Welsh Harp recently and has kindly given me permission to post these photographs from the Neasden side:
Mid reservoir view from the south bank to the rural looking north bank
