Wom Brook Blog

Tne BBC were looking for Water Voles!

Throughout today, a BBC film crew have been recording various aspects of the voluntary work undertaken by members of the Friends of Wom Brook.

The day commenced with the 8 a.m. arrival of the BBC team to the Brook area, and then accompanied by members of the Friends Group they visited areas where water voles have either been sighted, or where evidence exists of their feeding on plants. As could have been predicted, these creatures proved to be camera-shy!

In the above photo, the BBC production team, comprising of the sound-man, cameraman, producer and assistant take some ‘establishing’ shots of the Brook.

Hopefully over the next few days, other photos of today’s filming will appear here on the Wom Brook blog.

Shortly, 7 of the bridges that cross the Wom Brook during its journey through Wombourne will receive official name plates, in order to accurately identify them.

This current project is another planned development in the ongoing process to raise local awareness to the ongoing conservation work associated with the Wom Brook.

Currently, it is difficult to be able to make specific reference to these bridges, either in conversation, particularly when directing Friends of the Wom Brook to conduct habitat surveys, or undertake litter clearing. A recent case in point was the accidental misplacement of a skip intended for the collection of cleared vegetation. Had there been nameplates fixed to the bridges, then quite probably the skip would have been delivered to the correct location.

On a more sombre note, should any accidents or injuries occur along the Wom Brook, then appropriate assistance could more easily be directed to the scene of a reported incident, by referencing the scene of an incident to the nearest named bridge.

Hopefully the long-overdue information on suitable location points for the nameplates will soon be emailed in an illustrated document to the South Staffordshire District Council. Today we discovered that a few adjustments need to be made to the draft proposal-specifically to the nameplate fixing points, but optimistically these amendments won�__t be long in being included in the final document.

A week ago, a large branch-like section of one of the trees growing close to the Brook by the Red Hill footbridge crashed down blocking the footpath.

Yesterday it was cut into moveable sections. Daniel wondered what the age of the tree was-I’ve included a photo of cross-section through the shorter of the two main branches, that shows two interesting things-
a) The annular rings
b) A couple of wasps feeding on the tree sap.

To attempt to answer Daniel’s question-the larger branch has about 12 annular rings. However, we assume that the tree is much older-as about 12 years ago, the original tree was cut down, as part of it was rotten.

Towards the middle of last week, the newly repaired Red Hill Footbridge located in the Gravel Hill section of the Wom Brook was reopened. The remedial work involved removing the main structure of the bridge, reinforcing the metal railings, refitting them and renewing the wooden decking. The painter in the above photograph applied the final touches.

Regrettably the very next day, temporary safety railings, which had been placed to protect walkers from the wet paint, were discovered thrown in the Brook. The same small-minded minority who were responsible for damaging the footbridge in the first instance probably perpetrated this mindless act.

If these individuals were to be questioned about the reasons for their actions, they would likely be unable to provide an answer. Perhaps if they were to briefly contemplate the workings of nature around them, they would see purpose associated with each and every action. Maybe this is the reason why so many of us appreciate what the Brook and the Railway Walk have to offer us.

In addition to monitoring the day-to-day developments along the Brook in Wombourne, the Friends of Wom Brook environmental group have also introduced regular ‘hands-on’ activities, which are designed to involve more local residents in the overall conservation activities of the group.

One such activity took place last Saturday morning, when younger members of the Friends Group set about collecting samples of invertebrate animal life found in and around the Gravel Hill area of the Brook. This exercise conducted under the guidance of the Group’s biologist, is a vital part of our voluntary work, and the interesting samples that were carefully identified and then returned to the wild provide a good indicator of the health of the Brook and surrounding land.

We were grateful for the support received in undertaking this task.

Nature and sometimes a combination of circumstances, such as the prolonged period of dry weather can combine to create a little chaos for us humans! In this case, a blocked footpath, caused by a large broken branch.
A not untypical occurrence along the Brook is that occasionally some of the larger and older well watered trees grow so large that they are unable to support their own weight. Consequently, a period of high wind, along with the added attentions of adventurous young people intent upon tree climbing cause larger branches to break from the main tree, as in the case of the tree featured in the above photograph.

This large branch came down sometime between Thursday and Friday morning this week, blocking the pathway leading from the Brook up to the Railway Walk.

It is highly likely in the meantime that the Landscape Department at South Staffordshire District Council’s Offices in Codsall will have been inundated with calls from inconvenienced walkers! Be assured that they will attend to the problem as quickly as they possibly can.

The ongoing repair to the footbridge located close to the footpath leading to Glendale Ave. has resulted in the partial removal of the main bridge structure-comprising of the wooden decking and metal railings.

This has been necessary due to the incessant attention of vandals, who due to their sustained and consistent efforts to damage the structure, eventually forced the main end uprights away from the steel base of the bridge, rendering the structure unsafe.

The photo shows the present situation, recorded this morning. (This footbridge is located in the Gravel Hill section of the Wom Brook Walk). It is a great pity that so much misdirected energy on the part of the vandals couldn’t have been more wisely channelled to help, rather than hinder the local community, but then their overall level of comprehension is probably too low to figure that out, more’s the pity.

Just to add-newcomers to the area (the warmer weather is attracting many walking groups) can take a short detour onto the Railway Walk ( the high bank 50m to the left along the footpath), which in turn leads through the steel railings and onto a straight footpath which finishes close to the centre of the village.

Does anyone know how long the bridge will be out of action? Comments welcomed below!

This photograph was taken on Sunday, looking north from the Giggetty Lane bridge over the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal in Wombourne. Normally this weblog is about the Wom Brook, and latterly, the Kingswinford Railway Walk.

However, in truth, this section of the village represented in the above photograph is still concerned with the Brook-as it actually flows underneath the canal, at a point called the Planks Lane Culvert, re-emerging just before Dickie’s Brook.
Few narrow boaters would realise that as they pass through Wombourne at this point, a brook runs beneath the canal.

Does this make this section of the canal an aquaduct I wonder? Answers please in the comments section below!