In Dorset, it would be called a brook, and in Aberdeenshire it would just be a burn. Here in Tooting this tiny waterway is called a river, and yesterday it was in full spate, full of rain run-off. I was planting seeds and could hear the rushing sound from behind my shed, so different from the usual trickle punctuated by the quack of a lost duck. Normally the Graveney is 3 or 4 inches deep, but here's a little film of it from yesterday living up to its name.
It may not be a great river, but it flows into the Wandle (from which the borough of Wandsworth gets its name) and then into the Thames, which surely is.
2 comments:
I lived in Seely Road before my marriage and the Graveny ran at the bottom of our garden. In 1968 it did come over the bank and flood our garden briefly. It depended how much rubbish was laying in it at the time. My father and uncle used to play in the brook as it was known in Streatham before it was turned into a storm course in the thirties. This was, I believe, a scheme to alleviate unemployment.
Thanks for your comments about the river flooding in 1968. We are looking to buy a property on Seely Rd and have slight reservations about the danger of flooding. It seems to have coped well with the wet winter of 2012 - but it appears there is still some danger.
How deep was the water when it flooded your garden briefly in 1968?
Nick
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