Fairly narrow, steep sided channel with meanders and occasional small bank collapses, these are creating shelves and berms within the channel which is a great feature.
The area (land use)
The dominant land use for this stretch of river is pasture.
Horses were the main livestock recorded.
Channel characteristics
The river channel consists of mainly silt, and riffles are present.
At the time of recording the flow of water was medium and the channel was 1-2m / 2-5m wide and in depth.
For most of this stretch the channel profile is steep.
Bankside trees were occasional, marginal plants and in-channel plants are frequent. Woody debris was noted to be dominant.
Engineering
The channel has not been straightened and man-made enhancements are absent along this stretch of river.
Field drains were recorded as present and barriers / culverts are present.
Condition
Areas of trampling / poaching were absent and areas of erosion were absent at the time of the survey.
Additional Comments
There is little in channel or marginal vegetation. The downstream part of section runs through Harold Wood Park in a recently dredged channel, through private gardens and public open space with horse grazing. In channel vegetation is at a minimum in this section and Himalayan Balsam is found on the banks.
