We have for some time been contemplating the idea of creating a pond in a meadow close to the river where the water table is very high, thus the ground very wet, impossible to graze or even drive the tractor through. Five days work by one man and a large swing shovel has produced a large pond in the field directly below our house. The pond has reached its current level achieved only with ground water and the level is still rising daily.

We hope the area will soon naturalise with the help of a wildflower and grasses seed mix to attract more insects and small mammals on the area of soil which has been moved. We plan to let the water settle for a while before planting the banks with native species and are waiting to see what arrives in terms of fauna and flora. We have already spotted the first inhabitant − a pond skater!

During 2010 the pond has become much more established. We have been looking to encourage more wildlife and this has been a great success – we’ve had dragonflies, a kingfisher, a heron and even a pair of otters.