Little Britain Lake and Watermills

@Ronrybs (21492)

London, England

September 13, 2022 9:11am CST

My plans to visit London have been put on hold for the time being, following the sad death of The Queen. But I have been working on another video, this one dealing with Little Britain Lake and two Watermills. Not a great deal remains of the mills, but what there is is most fascinating. At least one dates back to the mid 17 century. Little Britain Lake only dates to the 1930s and is yet another gravel pit, one of many in the local area. Not just used for fishing, but has its own conservation area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPWd81AL7MA

10 people like this

12 responses

@DaddyEvil (174590)

• United States

13 Sep 22

Thank you for taking us on the tour. I enjoy seeing and hearing about things like this. By chance, do you know how large Little Britain Lake is?

3 people like this

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@DaddyEvil (174590)

• United States

13 Sep 22

@Ronrybs I understand 14 acres. Thank you for looking that up for me. I would have told you not to go to extra trouble for me but you were quicker than I am. I appreciate it.

2 people like this

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

13 Sep 22

there's a question. Pretty sure I have come across it. Give a while and I shall see if I can dig it up

3 people like this

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

13 Sep 22

It is just over 14 acres or 56 650 (is) square meters in surface area

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@JESSY3236 (22244)

• United States

13 Sep 22

Pretty lake and nice little trails.

3 people like this

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@marlina (154103)

• Canada

13 Sep 22

@Ronrybs But the world never goes slowly.

4 people like this

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

13 Sep 22

I am always saying it, but this is one of the spots for a bit of spiritual recharging. I like to sit in one of the fishing spots and watch the world go by, very slowly!

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@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

13 Sep 22

@marlina I do. No wonder I am never caught up!

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@RebeccasFarm (91297)

• United States

14 Sep 22

This is lovely Ron..a beautiful place, and yes very sad the Queen RIP

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@RebeccasFarm (91297)

• United States

15 Sep 22

@Ronrybs What I would not give to be back

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@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

14 Sep 22

It is one of my favourite places. I tend to up around here on most of my walks

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@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

15 Sep 22

@RebeccasFarm I know what you mean, but in my case I get a hankering for LA, A vibrant place and I want to see where they filmed 'Them' my favourite 50s Sci-Fi film. I have located the spots on the map

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@LadyDuck (502653)

• Italy

13 Sep 22

This place is lovely. Thanks for the link to your video. I have looked on the map where it is located. Incredible to have such beautiful natural areas so close to London.

2 people like this

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

13 Sep 22

Never fails to amaze me! So close to a major city and the airport. The motorway is fairly close and you can quite often hear it. Still, a good walk

3 people like this

@LadyDuck (502653)

• Italy

14 Sep 22

@Ronrybs I have seen the map, it is very close to Heathrow Airport.

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@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

14 Sep 22

@LadyDuck Luckily the flight paths don't go over where I live or the lake area, so it is mostly pretty quiet

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@Kandae11 (57230)

•

13 Sep 22

It is awesome that relics of the past - like watermills - are still there. Even though no longer in use.

2 people like this

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

13 Sep 22

There were around 13 watermills in the local area, but no one knows for sure as they weren't all recorded. There is one that has remained intact to an extent and I shall have to visit that one again for a discussion here

2 people like this

@CarolDM (203396)

• Nashville, Tennessee

13 Sep 22

Love the sign and the details. Will check out the video. *Watched the video and it was so cool to hear your voice. You make a perfect narrator. The area is really nice.

2 people like this

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

13 Sep 22

I do the voice recording at home with a cup tea, for lubrication! I do enjoy my walks around here and often end up at the lake. Very peaceful, plus there is lots of things that catch my interest!

2 people like this

@CarolDM (203396)

• Nashville, Tennessee

13 Sep 22

@Ronrybs It sounded amazing. You could be on the television documentaries. I loved the views.

1 person likes this

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

14 Sep 22

@CarolDM A bit more work needed, methinks! I am not quite relaxed enough, so you get the odd umm in there!

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@snowy22315 (209080)

• United States

14 Sep 22

Thank you for the video. It is fun to look at things like that. There is an old mill near here. I love to drive by it. I wish it could be restored. I always say if I win the lottery that is what I will do.

@jstory07 (148764)

• Roseburg, Oregon

14 Sep 22

Very beautiful area. A nice place to visit.

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

14 Sep 22

It is, I often end up going around the lake when I go for a walk. It is very relaxing and I do a great deal of thinking on my ambling

@Fleura (35070)

• United Kingdom

13 Sep 22

Incidentally I have a little booklet about the Thames, for years it languished on the shelf until finally I picked it up to flick through and it was fascinating! I never thought before about what existed before the pound locks we know so well.... before that there were flash locks which sound quite hair-raising, and there was a constant battle between boaters who needed water to travel, and millers who needed to hold the water back to power their mills!

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@Fleura (35070)

• United Kingdom

14 Sep 22

@Ronrybs There's some interesting discussion here And of course Wikipedia has some info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_lock Maybe you could write about them!

https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/88643-flash-locks-how-did-they-work-in-practice/

www.canalworld.net

https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/88643-flash-locks-how-did-they-work-in-practice/

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@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

14 Sep 22

@Fleura Strangely enough, I have been collecting info on locks. I am quite fascinated by guillotine locks and have located a couple of surviving examples.

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@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

14 Sep 22

I haven't looked into that aspect of it, but can guess the bad blood over water usage. I feel a trip to the library coming up!

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@Fleura (35070)

• United Kingdom

13 Sep 22

Looks like a nice place for a stroll! Thanks!

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@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

13 Sep 22

When ever I am out for a walk, I usually take in the lake, just very peaceful

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@Fleura (35070)

• United Kingdom

13 Sep 22

@Ronrybs Lots of mills burned down - but then any fine powder, such as flour or sugar, is highly explosive, so that probably contributed!

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@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

14 Sep 22

@Fleura Indeed, milling was quite dangerous. From my reading, there was once a gunpowder mill in the area. Now there is a well dangerous job!

1 person likes this

@Dena91 (17039)

• United States

15 Sep 22

Interesting tour. Thanks for sharing with us.

1 person likes this

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

15 Sep 22

Glad you enjoyed it, I like making these and of course, I see things differently when I thinking about other people's point of view

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Anindita Sengupta

@aninditasen (18198)

• Raurkela, India

14 Sep 22

That looks beautiful. Hope you can visit the place and share beautiful photos with us.