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اردو
Tiếng ViệtCole Hill, (on the essex way trail), Great and Little Leighs
Essex, England
Get Directions →
Description:
Roadside spring, victorian / early 20th century style, easy access and place to park.
Nearest Address
Cole Hill, (on the essex way trail), Great and Little Leighs, Essex, UK.
Directions from Nearest Address
Near what is I believe Little Leighs church.
Vital Information
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Hours Spring is Open:
24/7/365
GPS: N/A
Map Link: Great and Little Leighs Spring Map
Submitted by: Adam
I cant see when I look at google maps, would does it look like ?
Or could you upload a picture.
picture and location uploaded.
I was wondering if this is a spring or a well??
its a spring…..contant flowing water. tastes good.
Is anyone drinking this water. Any good?
I’ve been drinking it for 2 or 3 weeks. tastes good.
Does anyone know if this water is safe to drink?
been drinking it for 2 or 3 weeks. tastes good. I am thinking of getting it tested to be sure.
I found the spring and took a few photos, it was not easy to find as it is very easy to drive past. I had to knock on the closest door and ask the locals. They advised that travelers always come and fill up from the spring. I have not had the water tested but it looks very clear and tastes great. I drank plenty of it and was ok, even filled up 3 demijohns. I will get the water tested if I can find a comprehensive test that does not cost a fortune.
The spring is on Cole Hill and marked with a post written “Essex Way”. You can see it in the photo but it does not show in the Google image picture.
Cut and past the following into a web browser to see it in Google maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=51.813696,0.521454&num=1&sll=51.815817,0.522679&sspn=0.007138,0.006295&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=51.813692,0.521511&spn=0,0.001739&t=h&z=20&layer=c&cbll=51.81356,0.52142&panoid=fPXLGcNFoizdU3NcuvGxoA&cbp=12,142.18,,0,12.28
Hi thanks for shareing this cycled tsmehere today, very nice water thanks again James Chelmsford.
TDS = 401
PH= 7.1
Hi Gurmit
What does the TDS value refer to?
Brian
Hi it means total dissolved solids here’s a link for more info hope that helps.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_dissolved_solids
I have been drinking this water for nearly a year now – I love it!
I live in London and it is a 106 mile round trip. Even with the high price of fuel, 90 one litre bottles work out at less than 20p/litre, and keeps me going for about 3 months.
It is a beautiful experience to drive out into the countryside and feel totally in touch with nature.
Great to be able to park right next to the spring, whilst filling up.
Hi peter,
that’s great to know. Can you tell me how you store your water for three months, in order to avoid algae growth and other organisms from multiplying ? Cheers
Been going here for over a year, went today and a “do not drink” sign has been put up on the tree above it. Can anyone shed any info?
Still filled up and been drinking it for over a week and feeling fine so im assuming its by someone who doesnt know any better – urgh, water from the ground, must be dirty!!!
I visited this beautiful spring about a week after you and, also saw
this sign. i decided to fill up and, then, do my internet research when
I got home. I received this reply from the Parish Council:
“Thank you for your visit. The sign was placed due to health
& safety because the water has not been tested or passed for human
consumption. Due to limited funds this parish council has not been in a
position to pursue the testing. We do however have plans to tidy up the
spring area.
Thank you again, Jessica
Great & Little Leighs Parish Council”
I too have been drinking from this spring for about 2 years – no ill effects so far, in fact I feel very well!! I also saw the sign on my last visit a few weeks ago and have been drinking the water since – all good. However, it would be nice to know officially that it is ‘safe, sound and wholesome’! I don’t know how much the tests cost but would imagine that there is enough interest to club together to have the tests done. I would certainly be prepared to contribute something towards it. Perhaps we could ask the Parish Council to ear mark a fund to test this spring for us?
Any ideas?
Richard Doyle
Hi i would be willing to help towards paying for a test aswell James.
Ok James, I’ll give the council a call during the week and see what the damage is likely to be and see what they can offer us in terms of a “joint venture”!
Richard
I wondered how this is going, the water testing? I’ve just found this website and would love to get some spring water on a regular basis. This is nearest to me, but on the map I see it’s in the heart of much farm land, and my first question was the quality of the water? Not just bacteria, but also if it could be polluted with farming chemicals? I wonder how this too could be tested. I’d like to hear what you find,
Wendy
Hello Wendy
I have today telephoned the chelmsford council and been directed to Mr Tim Savage as the gentleman who may be able to help with our query. Unfortunately he is out of the office today and will call me back tomorrow (with a bit of luck). I’ll post the outcome of the conversation.
Richard
Hi
Update – spoke to Tim Savage during the week. They have done a risk analysis and determined that the water is probably unsafe and therefore not worth testing further. The risk factors include the fact that the spring is near agricultural land and therefore may well be comtaminated with agricultural products (e.g. Pesticides and fertilisers). He also sites the fact that the concrete head and drainage arrangement is prone to contamination and cannot be easily treated e.g. with ultraviolet or other decontamination procedures in that location. He said that there may well be seasonal variation in the degree of contaiminnation – e.g worse during the winter. As a result he feels that it is likely that this water is safe and his department are not prepared to take the matter any further. He did say that if we wanted to have the water tested anyway, he was aware of a water testing lab in Braintree on the Springfield estate (?)
Any thoughts??
Kind regards, Richard
Hi Richard,
thanks for the update… hmmm, shame we use such chemicals on our precious land… this was a concern for me. I would still like to get the tests done, i am now intrigued, and even if the water is ‘unsafe’, it would be good to know more. Just out of interest for now, perhaps you or i could contact this lab and find out the costs? I’ll also have a look on the web and see if there are any more. However, the seasonal variation you spoke of is on my mind also, if we did get it tested, then it makes sense to test again at a different time of year. This could be costly. You’ve been drinking it for a while now though, as have others, would be good to know don’t you think?
Wendy
Hi Wendy
Would be good to know (if risk assessment stacks up to a real concern and if so what the nature of the risk is?) So I agree that ideally it would be good to have the tests done and multiple times during the year if possible. If you have the time and inclination then please feel free to run with this. My windows of opportunity are limited so I can contribute albeit in an ad hoc way! I would certainly be prepared to contribute to the costs of tests.
Richard
If its been raining heavily don’t drink from this fountain. I had a bit of a problem after drinking it, let’s just say it left me with my own fountain…hmm not good. However, when the weather was fine I had no ill effects and the water tasted great. I’m interested to hear test results when the well area isn’t flooded.
Hi Richard, my family and I have been drinking this water for a month or so with great enjoyment. However today my parents visited the spring and reported back that the water was yellow and sludgey, have you never experienced this before?
Richi
The church is Great Leighs: St Mary the Virgin : BOREHAM ROAD, Great Leighs, Essex, CM3 1PP and the spring can be found three hundred yards downhill from the church
Is there any more news on this spring please. I haven’t used it in a while and wondered if other people are still benefiting from it?
Wendy
Hi, Just visited this spring for the first time. Was really impressed by it and thought it looked beautifully clean. We have a couple of bottles. Has anyone drunk from this spring recently as I notice its quite some time since the last post?
did my first trip on friday before reading these comments.. anybody still drinking this? ? ?
This spring water is fine for drinking. I have tested it with a Watersafe kit and there is nothing nasty in it. Currently using it to make beer, and very good it is too.
Okay I have long wanted to use spring water for my home brewing and have taken away a few gallons from the spring to see how it does. Using aWatersafe test kit I have obtained the following results:
Lead – negative
Pesticides-negative
Nitrate-10ppm
Nitrite-0.3ppm
pH-8.0
Total hardness-435ppm
Total hardness 2.0ppm
Bacteria-negative
Assuming these test results are accurate, this water is good to use as is.
Will start a brew with it tomorrow.
This water is fine, I have tested it with a Watersafe kit and it is negative for anything nasty including pesticides.
I use for mking beer and it is excellent.
Could we please have an update on the water quality, the site and peoples experience of drinking the water? We’re the tests done and when?