Lining the Pond - part 3, continued

25 January 2020

We had left the pond liner doubled over, as it seemed a good idea at the time - but after a night of worrying at the idea, we both woke up on Saturday morning having decided that if we could, we would pull out the folds underneath.  The double layer was very slippery, and might make it very difficult to get in and out for planting and maintenance without sliding around and potentially damaging the liner.

Luckily Brian and Dmitri came round to borrow the scaffolding tower, and were willing to help.  The under folds came out surprisingly easily in the event, which was a relief.  And we were right, it was much easier to walk on afterwards.

 Dmitri and I up to our shins in icy water, 

just the job for the incipient cold I'd brought back from the UK

 The long view.  We were using water to push the liner down into the pit, and then using flat stones to define the shelves, and make sure the liner wasn't pulling anywhere.

 Laying the stones with extreme care, they can't be dropped or slid, in case of damage to the liner.

 The bank and levelling wall completed - with gentle curve around the apple tree (which is not in good condition, but decided to leave in place anyway).

 The workforce has moved on to building this fabulous snaky raised bed, exactly as we designed, to act as a defensive wall between the house and the Ha (half a Haha).

While we got on with introducing stones and gravel into the pond, after Dmitri and Brian had left, and filling up with more water to check the liner wouldn't tighten up and pull all the gravel off the shelves.