Mini HaHa clean-up Sunday 12th June 2011

I propose a clean-up of the Thames semi-tidal overflow that runs parallel from the A316 Twickenham bridge downstream through the Old Deer Park. It is a channel that re-fills and partially empties again from the river via a culvert just upstream of the railway bridge. Spring tides bring the main river right over it and flood the Old Deer Park itself, this channel is how the park drains afterwards.

I had always thought it was dead, but walked along there yesterday afternoon and Matthew spotted fish flashing about, then we saw a shoal of fry. A Heron was lurking there. So far from being dead, it's more like a spawning ground, a refuge from the tidal maelstrom. A neighbour claims to have seen someone pull a pike from it too.

We counted at least 4 traffic cones and all manner of other rubbish in and around it. To clean up we need a Sunday morning that's some time after low tide so the level is down.
Suitable dates with low tide times are:

• Sunday 15th May 08:32
  
• Sunday 12th June 07:12
  
• then there's a long gap with high-tides on Sunday mornings until
  
• Sunday 28th August 09:14
  

This could be quite high-profile, hundreds of people walk the tow path there on a Sunday. If we left the rubbish on the tow-path near the railway bridge at the bottom of Old Palace Lane or by the bins at the foot of the road bridge they'd all see it.

Parking therabouts is all permits EXCEPT on the other side it's free parking in Ranelagh Drive, St.Peter's Road and The Avenue.

View under the railway bridge, culvert to Thames is left foreground.


Can you spot 3 traffic cones in this picture?


Another cone


And another cone


Rubbish

Excellent. I'll try to make it. If I'm at work then you can all come in for a tea.

This channel was (is?) known locally as the Mini HaHa and played a huge part in my interset in fishing. I used to go minnow catching (net, not rod!) with my late father some 40+ years ago. Maybe they were actually roach and dace fry?! It's good to hear fry have again been seen there.

I've corrected this thread title, I think it's important to our culture that these names are kept alive

just let me know when and ill see if i can help.

willie

pukka one ed, do you wanna organise it

Yeah lets go for it, I can do either date 15th May is this Sunday what does everybody think about that?
If that's too soon the 12th June, though that might be the day everyone has pencilled in for pre-baiting and sorting through tackle boxes to get ready for the new season.

so a big clean at mini haha it is folks
gotta concur about your sentiments about dates

over to you folks

Of course we could always pre-bait the mini haha afterwards ...

we wouldn't wanna tread on the toes of tender step and light foot

12th June best for me.

12th June sounds good to me.
I wouldn't wade in it,the mud is very deep in some places,well it was in 1957

12ths good for me

These 'ditches' definitely support juvenile fish.

Half a mile or so downstream in Kew there's a similar one by the towpath (not sure if it's connected with MiniHaha?). It's basically a long pond until the next spring tide.

Last summer there was a shoal of small rudd topping in there - definitely rudd. I was very close, water was clear, sun was shining....and in our pond at home we had rudd so would like to think I could ID them in the water.

It was around then we asked on here about rudd in the tidal Thames and other people had caught them. We found out they'd been stocked in the Grand Union (they were less than a mile from the Brentford confluence), so they could easily get into the Thames. Then a few months ago, we also found out rudd were stocked directly in the Thames by TAPs.

Anyway , moral of the story is they are clearly a refuge for small fish.

Yes it's the same ditch, runs all the way along until somewhere before Kew Gardens Brentford gate.
For this clean up we will just stick to the Old Deer Park section, Twickenham Bridge to Richmond Lock.

Looks like we have a consensus on the date, 12th June, arrive 8:30-9:00am ?
I will notify the council of the imminent rubbish pile.

I'll try and make it guys. I don't know the area very well. What's best way (I'm coming from the far east of London) and where are you meeting?

Stuart, you must be completely crazy travelling a long way to one of our clean-ups, but will be very welcome!

Assuming you are driving, early on a Sunday morning the quickest way may well be to just come round the north circular. My wife has driven it (in the opposite direction) at that time and it's a pretty easy trip, 50 mins Twickenham to Dagenham. (Easy until you get to Hanger Lane at least!) After Hangar Lane take the A406 down to Chiswick roundabout, over Kew Bridge, A307 to Richmond finally A316 to Twickenham. Over Twickenham Bridge, double back at the roundabout marked "St.Margarets Roundabout" on the map , veer off down "The Avenue" as you approach Twickenham Bridge and free parking in Ranelagh Drive. Cross the bridge and meet on the towpath where I've marked the purple X.

Ed,

I wouldn't think twice about travelling that far to go fishing, I'll do my best to be there.

Stu

Excellent, look forward to meeting you Stuart

Sam Turner (Scouts leader) spoke to me the other day and said that other leaders in the area had asked him about the river Crane litter-pick and expressed an interest in similar events in future. I told him about this one and it's likely that some Scouts will be coming along. I'm putting up a poster with the details in our scout hut this evening.

At last, found an article referring to the Mini Ha Ha by name:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/britainatwar/britainatwarreadersmemories/5120108/Britain-at-War-At-the-outbreak-of-war-my-family-were-fitted-for-gas-masks.html

EdRandall wrote:

At last, found an article referring to the Mini Ha Ha by name:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/britainatwar/britainatwarreadersmemories/5120108/Britain-at-War-At-the-outbreak-of-war-my-family-were-fitted-for-gas-masks.html

Cat amongst the pigeons ...but I reckon it's Minnehaha Ed. Based on googling while I just had a cuppa and stretching the realms of possibility...

Minnehaha was a yacht towed back to Tough's boatyard in Teddington after Dunkirk - along with dozens of others whilst the Admiralty decided what to do with them. The most urgent repairs would've been moored at Tedders but you can imagine those down the queue would've been moored up and down the river - maybe Minnehaha was moored by the creek...or ended up in it after a high tide?

Seeing as the creek runs up to Kew gardens and Minnehaha is a rose variety, maybe there once was a planting of Minnehaha bushes there

There also is a Minnehaha Creek in America it could be named after.

Anyone know?

nice one chaps, and getting the scouts involved as well is pukka, as long as health and safety is ok
would a small inflatable dinghy be useful

Not sure about the boat. You could fairly easily jump across the channel most of the stretch we're targeting, it can't be much more than 10ft wide max on that section. I was thinking of bringing something like a garden fork or rake to hook stuff out. Grappling hooks, rakes and manpower should do it. I have some long garden canes also, think they might be useful for prodding the mud before wading, just to see how deep it really is.

I'll come along, its walking distance for me, see you there.

Guy, I'm going to bring a wheelbarrow, if you have one you can bring too we will be well sorted.