The Counter Drain Washes
Introduction
The photograph on this page of The Counter Drain Washes by Bob Harvey as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
The Counter Drain Washes
Image: © Bob Harvey Taken: 22 Jun 2021
The Counter Drain is a counter-drain. It runs parallel to an embanked river, and absorbs any seepage through the bank, and rainfall that (if left to stand) may soften the bank. In this case it is counter to the River Glen to the north, and the land between is known as the Counter Drain Washes. Wash-land could be sacrificially flooded in extremis, and was more suited to grazing than cultivation - a distinction that mechanical pumps and the late 20th century changes in machinery made redundant.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
52.755914
Longitude
-0.277565