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Field report · Site 14

Hollin Beck, upper catchment

Ines Vandermeer-Osei · 4 September 2026

The upper catchment has held water through a dry August, which is the first time in four seasons that has happened.

The sphagnum lawn above the confluence is continuous for roughly 140 metres, where last September it was broken into three patches with bare peat between them. Depth of the wettest hollow measured 38 centimetres against 22 last year.

Two of the drainage grips blocked in 2023 have silted to the point where they no longer read as channels at all. A third, at the eastern end, has cut around its dam and is running again; it will need attention before the winter.

A dense forest floor in deep green with one shaft of amber light
Looking north-east across the sphagnum lawn, 09:40. The re-cut grip is out of frame to the right.