Wet wet wet

I've been slipping, sliding and squelching my way through Croydon's green spaces recently. Every time I come home, I bring souvenirs with me, in the form of mud. My trouser legs look like Jackson Pollock has had a go at them with some brown paint. 

This time of year, there's water everywhere and many of our parks are flooded. I've seen people concerned about this, particularly as parks are especially important at the moment. However, their tendency to flood is a key reason why some of these sites remain public land. 

Ashburton Park, Jan 2021

Croydon's green spaces used to have more ponds and lakes than they currently do. 

The current "flooding" in Ashburton Park pretty much exactly matches the location of the lake on this map from 1898 (available on the National Library of Scotland website here). 

Wandle Park was the site of Croydon's first sewage treatment works, however this was short-lived, being replaced by an abbatoir. Despite this insalubrious land use, the park was very popular in the Victoria era. There was a sizeable boating lake where the recently restored pond is. The book Croydon's Parks: An Illustrated History, from 1988, states that the boating lake was filled in when the River Wandle was culverted in 1967, as the water table had dropped due to the development of Croydon and the lake had dried up. This meant that for decades, Wandle Park had no trace of the river it was named after and the River Wandle only appeared above ground right at the edge of Croydon, at Waddon Ponds.

Wandle Park, April 2020

Between 2010 and 2013, a restoration project brought the River Wandle back to the surface and installed a pond and band stand. In addition to the benefits to the people of Croydon of restoring the park to its former glory, the project aimed to prevent flooding further downstream. The water level changes rapidly after heavy rain. The Wandle also runs through the New South Quarter housing development (off Purley Way) and I took the photos below at the same spot 48 hours apart in February 2020. The nearby road and tram stop name, Waddon Marsh, also gives clues that the land used to be waterlogged.

Left: 27/02/20, right: 29/02/20, New South Quarter

If we had no green spaces, flash flooding would be a major problem. Roads, pavements, driveways and buildings are almost entirely impervious to water, so heavy rain flows straight off and overwhelms the storm drains. On 13th August 2020, after a long period of hot, dry weather, it rained very heavily. I took the photos below on Coombe Road, near Park Hill, where the road was flooded. More water flowed down to South Croydon and flooded businesses on South End and the Brighton Road.

Back in August 2011, water flowing across Park Hill Park in central Croydon (I think from a burst water main) resulted in the side of the railway cutting collapsing onto the London to Brighton train lines, causing severe disruption to train services. Following this incident, a drainage channel was dug along the side of the park, which flows after heavy rainfall. Park Hill used to have ponds in Victorian times and the lower parts of the park tend to be waterlogged in winter.

Landslide onto railway line at Park Hill, Aug 2011

There are relatively few permanent ponds in Croydon but quite a lot of ephemeral, or seasonal, ponds, which only hold water during the cooler months and dry up in summer. These ephemeral ponds are surprisingly important to wildlife, as they aren't colonised by fish, meaning amphibious and insect species can breed there without their young being predated. Littleheath Woods has several ponds which are teeming with tadpoles in spring but just mud by late summer. 

Tadpoles in Keyhole pond, Littleheath Woods

Lloyd Park has one permanent pond plus some small ephemeral ponds. The permanent pond, close to the Deepdene Avenue entrance, is home to a sizeable population of newts and attracts many damselflies and dragonflies in the spring and summer. The pond is also popular with a range of song birds. 

Smooth newt, Lloyd Park, April 2020

Ephemeral pond, Lloyd Park, Nov 2020

Dogs enjoy ephemeral ponds. Lloyd Park, Dec 2020

Birds also enjoy waterlogged parks, like this pair of Egyptian geese who were enjoying Ashburton Playing Fields.

Egyptian geese on Ashburton Playing Fields, Jan 2021

Heavers Meadow, Nov 2020

Heavers Meadow is a flood meadow next to Selhurst railway depot and is currently home to a lot of ducks, plus other birds. The book Croydon's Parks notes that the water level in the Norbury Brook, which runs through the meadow, can rise very rapidly following rain.

South Norwood Country Park was originally established as a sewage treatment works, but proved poorly suited to this role because of the underlying London Clay which meant the water didn't drain away. This wetland has made it an important bird habitat however, with breeding birds including reed warblers and sighted birds including water rails and snipe. 

South Norwood Country Park, Dec 2020

From a photography perspective, all this extra water is photogenic, especially when the sun shines on it. I have been enjoying photographing reflections.

Upside down path reflections at Addiscombe Railway Park, Jan 2021

I hope this has given you a greater appreciation for our soggy, squelchy parks.