Millstream Lane brook (traditionally know as Two-Mile Brook) was the main path (via the Hay Mill, demolished 1961) by which the water that wells up in Lammas Meadow in Britwell reached the Thames. This fresh-water spring was known via passed-on wisdom spanning back perhaps hundreds of years to have never run dry even in the severest of droughts. It gives bright clear water which probably gave rise to the archaic name of Britewell.
The run from Haymill down through Brook Path was put underground in the 1970s (for no good reason). The stream surfaces in Lower Cippenham Lane where it runs down Millstream Lane. From there it flows through the new estate and on to Chalvey joining with other sources such as Queen Anne's Spring and the Montem Brook. It eventually reaches the Thames at Eton. The brook occurs in records dating to the 13th Century.
The photograph shows the state of the water as it was on Friday 27 May in Millstream Lane. Parts of the bed are now completely exposed and in the parts where there is still water cover it is no deeper than a puddle. There is no discernable flow.
The brook has alway been a haven for wildlife, supporting many species of small fish, water-borne insects and amphibians. Kingfishers are still occasionally glimpsed along the banks. We observed minute fish stranded in the remaining puddles and lying dead on exposed parts of the bed.
Local residents we spoke to said that there is in-fact more pooled water now than there had been before the rain of the last few days. We agree with the residents' view that the cause needs to be found and water flow restored as a matter of urgency.
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