There’s a seasonal twist to this week’s work: our team is restoring ghost ponds just as Halloween arrives. Fortunately, these are the historic features in the landscape kind, rather than the spooky kind.
Ghost ponds are former ponds that have disappeared beneath years of cultivation or become overgrown. Their outlines and buried soils can still reveal where water once gathered, while old and historic maps can help us identify where ponds were previously located. On this farm, William Morfoot’s team is restoring and redirecting a number of these ponds, bringing them back into the landscape and guiding water towards them once again.
On site
Bringing historic ponds back to life
The work involves carefully reshaping the old pond areas and managing the surrounding ground so water can flow into the restored features. Each pond is part of a wider system, so understanding the levels and how water moves across the farm is essential to getting the results right.
Our photographs show the team and machinery at work, from the excavation taking shape to close-up views of the ground and the surrounding landscape. It’s practical, considered work that gives these historic features a new lease of life.
Restoration in progress
No ghosts have been spotted so far, although with this many ghost ponds to uncover during Halloween week, we’ll keep our eyes open.