Goldrill Beck near Hartsop ‘rewiggled’ in National Trust project

To ‘re-wiggle’ Goldrill Beck, near Hartsop, the National Trust moved the river from its current course alongside a main road and re-meandered it, creating a series of bends and smaller channels that will slow the flow of water and reduce the risk of flood damage to the A592.

Led by the Riverlands project, a partnership between the National Trust and the Environment Agency, the scheme aims to correct historic changes which artificially straightened and disconnected the river from the surrounding landscape.

According to the National Trust, these changes meant it responded quickly to rainfall, carrying large volumes of silt and debris downstream and eroding riverbanks, undermining defences and causing ‘catastrophic’ damage to infrastructure, farmland and communities, including undercutting and damaging the A592.

During the six-month project, 1.8km of new channel was dug, including meanders, splits, scrapes and backwaters, while 1km of artificial embankment has been removed to restore a natural flooding regime across the land, slowing the flow of water downstream during flood events.

National Trust Riverlands project manager Laura Ruxton said: “The Goldrill Riverlands project will make a real difference to the long-term resilience of Ullswater’s rivers, wildlife and communities.

“Reinstating a more natural water course at Goldrill Beck and connecting the river with the land that surrounds it will not only benefit flood resilience in the valley but support healthier habitats for wildlife and nature in the valley and give local people and visitors the opportunity to understand and engage with the natural and cultural importance of Ullswater’s rivers.”

Work was carried out by contractors Ebsford Environmental, who moved on site in April.

In June the National Trust worked with the Environment Agency to carry out a ‘fish rescue’; moving fish from the existing river channel to allow contractors to move machinery into the river to connect the river to its new channel.

The Environment Agency used a process called ‘electro-fishing’, passing a mild electrical current through the water to immobilise the fish. The fish were then placed into buckets and moved by a team of volunteers to another stretch of river while work took place.

The following month, Ebsford connected the river to its new channel over the course of three days by removing small sections of dividing bank.

Features in the river channel such as pools, riffles and point bars, were also created using gravel recovered from the bed of the old beck.

Gravel bars are areas where sediment will be deposited as it flows downstream, whilst riffles are raised areas of the riverbed where the water is fast moving but shallow.

Once the channel connection was complete, the old section of the channel was blocked off and partially infilled with material excavated from the new course and small channels and ponds were created to take drainage from the A592.

Final touches included re-seeding bare areas of the site, tidying up and reopening the permissive footpath along the north side of the site, and the installation of a new osprey platform.

To celebrate the end of the project the National Trust is holding an Open Rivers Day on Saturday, October 23.

As well as hosting the open day, the National Trust will host an online premier of a short film about the project, created by Kendal-based Land and Sky Media on Friday, October 22.