I’ve been meaning to say for a few days now that for anyone visiting Chasewater at the moment, the eastern dam route has reopened to pedestrians and cyclists. This means that for the first time in 12 months, park users can do a full loop of the lake without leaving the site. This reopening is only temporary over the Christmas break, and the path will close again when contractors re-start work next week.

It’s also a good chance to take a shufty at the work being done there. Note that access to the park and dam from the canal is still blocked while work continues on the basin.

Full details can be found on the Official Chasewater Dam blog, and a saner appraisal, as ever, on the Chasewater Wildlife Group’s brilliant news page. They should be the first port of call for any information about Chasewater. Graham Evans and his fellow enthusiasts put in a load of work to keep us informed, for which I thank them profusely.

It’s nice to see the water level rising slowly, with the outlet culvert now submerged and the vegetation on the formally dry lakebed now becoming swamped. If you haven’t been over there for a while, it’s worth checking out.

An interesting, but sad report of the boat club’s traditional Boxing Day event can be read an the Express & Star website.

Chasewater Wildlife Group’s news page: if this isn’t in your favourites, it should be. Click on the image to visit their site.