Dunton Mudbath

 

I finally got around to making a long-overdue visit to this place. I saw from the air a few weeks ago that the main pond had dried out a bit- the one on the far right of the attached photo, just below the green line.

I wanted to get into the really fine clay that settles-out away from the inflow pipes and streams- was just waiting for the right weather and today was perfect: warm enough that the water and mud would be nice and with really heavy showers every 20 minutes to ensure that casual dog-walkers would be inside in front of the TV.

I headed out on the Santa Cruz for a muddy ride after lunch; had the first downpour as I reached the bridleway in Dunton- no shelter, but at least the rain was warm. I made my way round to the South side of the pond- soaked and dripping before I even arrived; some exposed mud could be seen there and a small grove of ash trees right down to the edge would provide a bit of cover.

It was obvious that the pond had dried a lot during the dry spring weather- so now the fortnight's heavy rain had filled the mud cracks and the clay was just softening a little; it was still easy to walk-on without sinking- even 10 yards from the shore- it needed a bit of 'work', but it was worth it :-)

A little weight shifting was needed to get through the damp crust and then...just relax and slide-in to the warm creamy clay- no branches or roots or grit, just perfect clay with the consistency of ice-cream and the colour of caramel. It was fairly tight- I sank slowly to mid-thigh - around the bottom of my Fox shorts and thought I'd try to see how it released. I sat back on the crust and pulled out with massive effort, having to pull each leg which came away with an inch-thick skin of mud and a massive smooth ball on each foot. The extra weight made standing on the crust difficult- so I just jumped back into my excavated hole- which had not filled with water, straight to the crotch. The mud was now above the waistband of the shorts and flowing-in, and it's thick and warm and gives that heavy feeling.

Getting out is a challenge now- the deeper mud is cool around the legs and I lean forward to crawl out- no sign of the bottom, dragging my feet sort of chest-deep but horizontal. You can just about roll on the spot, getting progressively covered. I think about reclining and getting my head and face submerged...but chicken-out and say to myself that will wait until someone has a video camera to record it.

For the ride back to civilisation I wipe off the thick clinging layer and leave a second skin of mud, drying as I sit in the sun for some minutes before putting on my MX shirt, so it doesn't just soak through and look a bit 'odd'. The shorts are still like the pictures...so they need a wash. I ride around the quarry a bit and dry out to a pale tan flaking skin. I head back through the quarry workings and the rain run-off water is still cascading down the dirt road and off into the
trees where there are older ponds. I notice some of the trees are buried up to the forks of big branches- clearly there's some depth of mud here and I'm interested. Sure enough, after no more than three steps I have liquid mud soaked through my shorts and swilling around my balls- aaaahh!

After a few minutes lost in the trees I head to a shallow bank in a water lagoon- here the water is warmed by the sun and I wash-off the shorts and make myself reasonably presentable to the outside world. I dry off on the ride back and think I've just about got away with it, but half a mile from home the clouds open again and the water soaks through the jersey and liquifies the leathery dried clay...so I ride up the garden path with a trail of golden brown streaming down my back and out of my shorts...

That's just about a perfect Sunday afternoon.