The Power of Water ....

Imagine a field of gently waving green barley one day happily growing in the English summer, the next suddenly becoming a rather large corridor of mud. The city of Durham found itself with a mini grand canyon to its east The torrential rain during the night caused a wall of water to build up determined to find the shortest route towards the river, just simply by moving the agricultural soil to the side, then proceeding to cut down into the river sediments below.

Durham: a map of the city from 1610

Over three inches of rain had fallen on ground already saturated by excessive rains over the previous ten days, so on that night the torrent built up and thundered its way towards the sea, scouring the land as it took a shorter course through the flood plain.

An amateur photo from ukweatherworld.co.uk showing a close-up view of the new canyon

When the River Wear reaches the city of Durham it passes through a deep, wooded gorge, from which several springs emerge, historically used as sources of potable water, so the landscape has a very low water table and is prone to land saturation. The river ever evolves over the flood plain , naturally migrating across it.

The wooded riverbanks of the Wear as it flows through Durham

Durham city itself is built on a sandstone bedrock peninsula within an incised meander of the River Wear, providing an ideal defensive enclosure – so essential to early occupiers in Saxon and medieval England. The Norman Cathedral and 11th century castle were built on this high fortress promontory to provide sanctuary for the tombs of Saint Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede both buried on this land by their guardian monks from Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island.

The ‘great deluge’ forced a gully two hundred metres long, thirty metres wide and nearly five metres deep, the agricultural topsoil and river sediments underneath were swept into the River Wear and on out towards the North Sea. Now the waters have receded it is thought probable that the deluge found an old river course, pushing the barley plants, earth and silts to one side or took the balance with it as the force of the water rushed on following the line of least resistance.

Google Maps image, retrieved July 24, 2009, showing the field with the approximate position of the new canyon.

I wonder if all those 8 billion years ago the Grand Canyon started life as a thunderous roar before slowly cutting down through the rock stratas, while the continents pushed and pulled each other creating unexpected fragmented earth, eventually crafting our world as we know it today – but which forever ebbs and flows with the suns, moons, seas and rains .. perhaps that wondrous space evolved thus?

Noon rest in Grand Canyon (Marble Canyon) second Powell Expedition, 1872

We have such wonderful names for our places in England, when I was researching our mini Grand Canyon I found the Cow Green Reservoir (and yes, Durham does have a cow link! - the Dun Cow legend), Cauldron Snout falls and along the high Pennine moors to magnificent inland views down High Cup Nick and across to the Lakeland Fells. On top of that most of this descriptive passage came from the RaggyLads Walking Club – so thanks to them and for the picture.

Following their instructions for the walk, which we will not do here, but we can take their description on board, as we walk along we pass old lead workings, military activity (when the flag is flying), then rise above Maize Beck, before descending towards its banks again and crossing over (NB: be aware of the beck in spate). At this point it is easier to climb up the western side where the path is clearer, until at last you reach the very edge of High Cup Nick to see one of the wonders of Britain.

RaggyLads describe it as "a horseshoe shaped hole in the ground, but what a size, and what views from the top. The Grand Canyon it is not, but it is not bad all the same and well worth the walk out and the return." The picture is so enticing .. and as you see the Grand Canyon is mentioned here too.

High Cup Nick taken by one of the RaggyLads Walking Club

So there we have it .. a mini Grand Canyon made in hours – will it stay, what will they do with it, THE Grand Canyon made over millions of years, or High Cup Nick, which is pretty pretty – we live in a wonderful world, would you not agree?

Dear Mr Postman I hope you got back before our torrential rains came? So far it hasn’t been too bad here .. but reading The Cornish Riviera book to my mother – travelling along the railway, following every tributary, finding every Holy Well, visiting every Church, Chapel, and every ancient stone age monument from Stone Age Man to the Middle Ages I feel well travelled and somewhat sore throated – Mum thoroughly enjoyed it and that of course is the main thing, til tomorrow ...

Hilary Melton-Butcher
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