Finished.
The 14 ton excavator and 8 ton dumpers have gone, the syphons and pumps have stopped working and Redmire is now re-filling from the springs. Peace reigns once more at Bernithan.
I am delighted with the result. The shallows now extend back to their original size, the margins of the pool are 2 to 4 feet deeper (as they were in Walker's day), the two islands in the shallows are no longer part of the bank, fish can once again access three feet of water behind Bramble Island and the climbing tree and the deep central channel is once again to be found running towards the shallows from the dam.
Only four points of access to the pool were necessary and so the banks are left untrammelled around most of the pool and, once full, it will look almost the same as when we started the work. The main difference the eye of a Redmire angler would spot is the extension of the shallows, which makes the pool look far larger than it has in recent years. The other differences will be found when the angler casts and their lead sinks through ten feet of water instead of six.
Areas of silt and weed were left untouched deliberately and I'm confident that next spring Redmire will be clear, rich in weed and have the depth profile of the 1950's.
We've had 14 ton excavators stuck, tracks thrown on the huge dumpers, troublesome springs, pumps and syphons and more mud and mess than you would ever believe. But for every challenge we have found a "farmers fix" and we have completed on schedule.
Home today after four weeks, tired but very happy.
![Image](http://i65.tinypic.com/1zgyz4p.jpg)