The Drought 1976 cont.

The GLC took the opportunity to deepen the dried up areas of the Lake by bull-dozing the drying silt and creating firmer banks, shoring them up with Willow stakes, most of which rooted and have since grown into mature trees. The Lake did not dry up completely; there was still some water in the deeper part to the West of the island. This was dredged deeper by pumping the silt and water on to the higher ground to the North East of the lake and into the higher of two artificially constructed lagoons, one draining in to the other, thus allowing the sediment to settle with the ‘cleaned’ water draining back into the lake. Large flat shells of the fresh water swan mussel Anodonta cygnaea, along with shells and bullets etc. from WW1 were dredged up among the debris that was deposited in these lagoons. The trees growing along the Northern edge of the Lake grew from the Willow stakes that were driven in to shore up the bank after it was dredged in 1976.

The Drought 1976 written by L. Peter Comber.

Note: Fifty years later, on 26th June 2026, the UK recorded a high temperature of 36.9C°C, marking the hottest June day on record.