There’s been some interesting debate about what to call the brook, with the latest from only last month: What’s in a name? What to call the stream running through the Glen Goyle? Part three…
And for such a small and short stream, it has quite a lot going on, with even smaller and shorter streams feeding into it, as in: Convent Brook flowing into Bickwell Stream along the Glen
Also, it has quite a lot of character, going from a high-summer trickle to something else at this time of year: The raging Bickwell Stream along the Glen.
Upstream and along its length have been explored – but what about when the stream finally reaches its destination?
Two years ago, on the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group social media pages, there was some discussion about what seemed to be a rather unsavoury stagnant pool on the beach.
A helpful reply was given by Paul Foster at the time:
It always happens. That’s where the stream that runs down through the glen runs into the sea. The sea throws all the stones up and makes a dam and the stream soaks through them to the sea. but the surface always gets scummy with the dirt that washes down, eventually a big rain will break through the dam and it will run clear, until the sea blocks it off again. then it will get dirty and scummy again and so the cycle goes on.
(20+) Sid Valley Biodiversity Group | Facebook
Looking at more recent data, the Report On The Water Quality Of The River Sid, Its Tributaries And Bickwell Brook. from the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group states that: Nutrient rich run off full of algae drains across the Muttersmoor Road and into Bickwell Brook. And, indeed, the Project – Water Quality Testing by the River Sid Catchment Group gives more information about the state of the stream as it runs down the Glen and into the sea.
Finally, in terms of what the stream looks like when it ends up on the beach, that changes over time. Sometimes it looks like a murky pool, as in the photographs from two years ago referred to above. At other times it’s a verdant area and becomes something else, as reported on the River Sid website blog: The beach garden: where the Bickwell stream enters the sea…
Here’s an aerial google maps photo of the spot – taken a year ago:
And if you scroll further down the blog piece, there are photos of volunteers from the SVBG taken by Ed Dolphin, as they do a bit of gardening:
What an interesting little stream!
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