mud locations in the bristol area

[mudman2000]

Does anyone here know of any good mud location in the bristol or surrounding areas I.E Gloucestershire, Avon or Somerset and Wiltshire. The deeper and sloppier the mud the better.

I know of the Severn estuary in between the two bridges is a good spot but I want to find more places to sink in

[BillShipton]

No, but I know a man who does...

Mike Nomic is your man.

[Jonny]

Weston Super Mud.....

[mudman2000]

The trouble with Weston is that it is to open

How do I get in touch with Mike Nomic?

[BillShipton]

He's a member of the forum, so you can PM him. The name might be one word, can't remember (or be arsed to look it up!)

[Mike Nomic]

The same applies to Bristol and the surrounding area (Avon!? - that disappeared donkey's years ago) as it does to anywhere else in the country or to anywhere else in the world come to that.

You start with maps (preferably large scale) looking for estuaries, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, canals and other water features. Canals, you puzzle - well particularly in the areas where there are flights of locks, there are pounds at the top to hold the water that is needed to operate the locks: these are refilled by pumping from the stretch of canal (ever seen one that's not a thick brown colour full of sediment?) below the flight, hence large stationary areas of water, so mud is a fair bet.

Then try Yellow Pages, or your local classified directory in other parts of the world (or its online equivalent wherever you may be) looking for Granite & Slate Suppliers, Gravel Suppliers, Quarries, Quarrying & Mining Companies, Sand & Gravel Suppliers, and Stone & Marble Merchants. Now it's not rocket science to rule out those with urban addresses (offices and merchants) leaving those locations where extraction actually takes place.

Most quarrying operations (particularly sand and gravel) require washing of the material to remove the smaller than required elements (dust, grit, etc) and this residue is left to its own devices in settling ponds. These are large deep/very deep pools, generally of particularly sloppy material, although they may, depending on the nature of the operation, have their own strata built in. Where the drainage is good (which is not the norm), or the operation is sporadic, or there are various settling ponds in use, the discarded material builds up in layers which can dry out slightly on the top, until another layer is deposited. Sinking in to such a pond, one can frequently break through several of these layers, feeling an intermittent slight resistance as each layer is broken. Further layers can normally be broken with a little extra effort, taking care as not all layers are the same depth. Crotch/waist even bust-deep is not unusual in these ponds.

So there you go: the Severn (both sides) above, below and between the bridges; the lower reaches of the Wye; the Bristol Avon - especially the lower stretches (where some of the mostwam sets are shot), and probably more quarries, etc than you can wave a stick at.

Go seek, and let us all know what you find.

Mike Nomic

[Sploshman]

Mike did you get the PM i sent you last week??.

[SlurrySlut]

If you're in thef central area of bristol at low tide the river from the swivel bridge downwards (in the hotwells area) reveals loads of lovely sloppy mud and in some places quite deep too. If you go a ways down the cycle path on the other side of the river from the road you can step off it and get down to the mud pretty easily.

Probably best to do it at night, as then no one will really be able to see you but the lights from the city and road light it up enough. Ohh and check thef ftides first nohting more dissapointing fthan getting down there and finding your favourite mud pool is under water! Ohhh the fun I had in that mud back when I lived in the city it's been quite dissapointing to find out that the countryside isn't full of thick deep mud right on your doorstep!

[mudman2000]

thanks for the tipp off slurryslut and thanks mike for the advice got a couple of quarries i am going to check out over the weekend

[mudman2000]

Anyone on here from the bristol area fancy meeting up sometime for a splodge around ?