Quicksand Fans

Last year I moved house and I'm now situated in a much more geographically interesting environment, consisting of lakes, fields, woodlands, farmland and a quarry! Something I'm willing to do this Summer is to explore the area in more detail and try to find some potential sinking spots. I'm based in the middle-ish of England, for those who may want an insight into the climate around here it's somewhat warm in the summer and very wet in the winter.

What are the tell-tale signs of a good patch of muck? What criteria should ideally be fulfilled in order for a sinking spot to be worth visiting or even trying out? Are there any particular land features I should be looking for?

All suggestions are welcome!

It you have muddy/silty streams or creeks then look under the bridges or around shallow meanders. Over half of my locations are under bridges. Bridges can mean easy access and moving water is nice for clean-up. Bridges also shield mud from sunlight which inhibits vegetation.

Most of these locations, I only visit during night. I do have one location that I go to in the daylight.

My first sink was in a quarry. There was a sand wash area that was pure quicksand. Seemed dangerous but I was a newbie. I decided not to return. I avoid trespassing mainly because I have found very good mud on property which is not private.

The only way to find out is to scout and test. That is half the excitement. My success ratio has gone from 1 in 10 to around 1 in 3.

Is there any dredge projects in your area? If it is mud that they are dredging, then the dredge spoils site will be very similar to an abandoned clay quarry. I have an abandoned dredge spoils site that I have been to twice now. Absolutely amazing. Creamiest clay I have ever experienced.

Good luck Kipcicles2.

mud_dreamer

I'm in the same boat, would love to investigate some of the peat bogs in and around the Peak District but don't know where exactly to look!

I do a lot of hiking on different trails,some very populated but quite a few less travelled. What i try to look for is swamp weeds or cat tails along marshy areas,maybe a little low lying,that usually tells me that there could be mucky or boggy areas near the area,but sometimes there are marshy watery sections but sometimes inland of the marsh you can get lucky and find a hidden patch of thick mud.The only problem sometimes is getting to it,that would require a plan sometimes becoming an obstacle course and surely you dont want to get lost trying to find a perfect spot and being swarmed by horse flies ouch. Might I suggest if you ever explore bring a small set of binoculars, a big help when scouting, it gives you an idea and could spot an interesting area faster.

Cartesheripade wrote:I'm in the same boat, would love to investigate some of the peat bogs in and around the Peak District but don't know where exactly to look!

From my experience the peak district (UK) is a bit too rocky to have anything over ankle deep. It has loads of marches but these are water logged grasses growing directly on rock. In all my time exploring (admittedly in the high peak area) I've never encountered anything deeper than ankle. I saw an interesting location on the west side of Lady Bower Reservoir in the last month, where the meandering river meets the still reservoir water, where there is a large exposed mud bank with clear mud cracks and footprints that make me think "we are not alone". However, the mud looked dry and the reservoir was low making this a sensitive window for getting good mud. Additionally, it is exposed, tricky but not impossible to get to and technically on land owned by Seven Trent Water.

I was unsure whether it was even worth posting on a map, but if its in your area and you are interested, I figured I'd give you a heads up. If not, the walk along the path above it is still spectacular and its one of the few places in land where you get waves. I only holiday in the Peak District but if you prove me wrong by finding deep mud, I'd be interested to know about it.