Days 183 to 204 - The long overdue tale of the Discovery of the Apple Trees River (or the ongoing repair list)

It's difficult to explain how time feels like its both flying and also not on site in the office.  We're in a rather unique position now, where bookings are more frequent and we're absolutely, definitely, without question, in operation....and alongside that we're still also trying to do everything else to get the bits that aren't yet ready ready for use.  And then, as if two to-do lists wasn't enough to be getting along with for our team, we've also now got an ongoing maintenance list which is rather tidal in nature (i.e. it flows and ebbs, almost daily) and that's really because things are waking up and having not been used or maintaned during the period of closure, in some cases, they don't seem to be entirely happy about it and so they protest when used lots all of a sudden and we have tweaks to make.  We're doing well with bookings still coming in daily, and some for this year still, which is great, and we're getting quite a number for next year now too along with some who have been this year and booked to return - those are our favourite kind! I think we aspire to be people's annual treat - a bit of a recharge and escape to bask in the Foxlease Park magic and hearing young people who visit ask if they're coming back next year is just the absolute best thing.  So forgive us that we manage to say less in the blog, less frequently than we'd hoped, but we will still keep updating when we can for those of you still reading.

And now, on to the long overdue tale of the Discovery of the Apple Trees River.  When we last updated, we wrote (briefly) of our saviours Dyno-Rod, who saved us from the poo-mountain near disaster drain blockage which occured and the Apple Trees River incident occurred just a day or so after poo-mountain weekend when, to be honest, the team were still reeling a bit from the unpleasantness.  It was a sunny morning and our lovely boilerman from Normans had arrived to do some further assessment of the three remaining campsite hut boilers to be replaced (Nuthatches, Magpies and Pine Trees) and we were getting on with setting up a few bits for the Coffee Afternoon happening later that day when Gordon returned back from North Meadows and asked Emma if she knew where the water running down the road from Apple Trees was coming from....the response was "what water?"....so off they went to investigate further.  At this stage, there was a trickle of water running down the hill from Apple Trees forming a slow puddle but nothing too gushing and it appeared to be coming from under the trees between the Crate Stack Activity Area and the Apple Trees Campsite. 

Investigations ensued...pine needles were brushed aside, trees and bushes were climbed in to investigate further and more water appeared, all leading back to Apple Trees.  They climbed out of the trees and walked round to the campsite and discovered the bubbling Apple Trees not-so-natural spring coming up from the concrete in front of the hut....where the stop cock should have been firmly off...this was concerning for obvious reasons.  Further investigations down into the hole revealed that the plastic stop cock piping joint had blown and, instead of being attached, the vital stopper was instead bobbing merrily around in the fountain of water down the hole.  It was decided that plumbing expertise was needed....the plumber on site was called and our mate Steve (the plumber) conducted his own investigations and then, when it was apparent that the water could not be stopped, got his arm very wet indeed up to his shoulder in the hole attempting to feel out what was going on (meanwhile, back on the main path, the river was steadily growing larger and extending further towards The Barn...a concern given the impending coffee afternoon).  Steve's arm reappeared and no joy with the repair (momentary concern was expressed by Hazel that his arm has turned blue...but it turned out to just be his tattoo which had been there all along).  In the face of the onslaught of water, and the indication from Normans that unless some means of turning off the water could be identified then it would be necessary to dig through the 12-inch thick concrete on Apple Trees, the Team fell back to the area outside of Apple Trees and thus began the hunt for a working stop cock, alongside which reinforcements were called to source a breaker for the concrete, just in case....

Maps were consulted, and then older maps and then older and older maps to see if a stop cock still in existence and worth checking could be identified...drain covers were lifted, even covers which we were certain weren't going to help us were checked...meanwhile, Paul and Ian arrived with breakers and additional support tools.  Steve the plumber left until further update was available that repairs couild be undertaken...Paul and Emma both ended up taking turns shoulder deep in water just in case stoppering up to stop the water flow could be achieved...it could not...the Team fell back further to older stop cocks and wider spread locations around the site which might stop the increasing flow...which was edging ever closer to Barn Drive...the day continued...the coffee afternoon departed and no progress was made...the decision was made that breaking the concrete was going to be too big of a thing and cause too much destruction...there was talk of other options and solutions, none of which solved matters or were viable...Paul got back on his tractor and Ian, Emma and Hazel continued to investigate.  Every mapped stop cock was found by 5pm...none of them worked...we fell back further to the Main Gate...the water continued its steady progression and we'd have worried we were the cause of the water shortage in Hampshire if it hadn't already been announced prior to our incident by some days.  In the Main Gate forest the mains stop cocks were discovered and, after requiring hulk-like strength to uncover them, were also investigated - we were then faced with a movie-drama style decision, not the red wire or the blue one, but stop cock one or stop cock two...for either we then needed a trip to B and Q for a stop cock key as the one we sourced didn't fit...late night B and Q (other providers available) was actioned and it returned as darkness fell and Hazel and Ian ventured into the forest again...to find that it didn't fit stop cock one, so the decision was made for us...we held our breath...it did fit stop cock two! Woohoo! Celebration...but...too soon...as stop cock two was the wrong one!  Stop cock one was revisted but needed an industrial-sized hydrant key...which we could not source...we called back Normans for a second day of assistance and called it a very soggy night...the river persisted.

Day two and early starts, back to the discovery exercise, this time with Matt from Normans.  No joy, river now forming a rapids and Apple Trees very boggy...wellies were applied to relevant feet and we then determined that Matt's tool was also not sufficient and we called out Southern Water..."Are you sure there's a leak?", they said..."Pretty certain", we said..."Please confirm what leads you to think that"...they asked..."Giant river", we said.  Hazel got firm and the little Southern Water man was dispatched with promises to arrive within 2 hours....we continued with things in the meantime....Matt stayed ready for action the second it was off.  The Southern Water man arrived and after inviting him for a short walk with us in the woods to find stop cock one (pretty sure he thought it was a murder plot), he had the gear and all the ideas (only one was needed) and he did the magic and turned it off! Celebrations all round! Matt leapt into action and replaced the broken joint (an amazing feat in itself given its location underground) and we extracted contact details from the Southern Water man to return to help us turn the water back on, which he kindly promised to do and then did...he reinstated water, this time unaccompanied in the woods, and we held our collective breath...would it hold or would we be returning back down to fountain town on Apple Trees...it held!  Southern Water was thanked and dismissed.  Things were tidied and order was restored.

It took some time to dry out and Ian has since procured the right sized stop cock key for us so that we avoid a repeat river if the worst happens.

We'll update on the general happenings very soon, but we hope you enjoyed our storytime today, Love Foxie x