“The Elham Valley Nailbourne is an intermittent chalk stream which rises beneath St Ethelburga’s Well at Tayne Field in Lyminge and runs through the Elham Valley until it becomes known as the Little Stour near Littlebourne. Winterbourne torrents are found around the country and take their name from the occasional and seasonal flow with which they’re associated.” Mr Jermin, Carol’s geography teacher at Pent Valley Secondary Modern School in Cheriton, indicated a twisting watercourse on an enlarged Ordnance Survey map he’d pinned to the classroom wall. “The term ‘Nailbourne’ is unique to Kent, which features three such mysterious rivers. The word’s origin may arise from the old English word ‘nahl’ for intermittent, and ‘ail’ meaning trouble. One stream is located at Alkham, another at Petham, and the largest or longest is the one I’ve already described in the nearby Elham Valley.” The bony educator, a whisper from retirement, swept fading strands of a comb-over across his scalp. “Underground chalk aquifers collect rainfall like a sponge. The quirky nature of our porous bedrock geology means that during years of excessive rainfall, water levels rise through fissures and cavities to bubble up and penetrate the ground as springs. This is why you can find a busy flow in one normally dry section, which then disappears underground further along, only to reappear a village or two later. It also inspired many superstitious beliefs and mythical tales, including the popular but inaccurate notion nailbournes only rise every seven years. While that’s not an unreasonable average, it’s also possible to find empty riverbed sections bursting their banks a mere two or three years apart, given sufficient precipitation.”
Carol raised her hand.
“Yes, Carol.” Mr Jermin straightened.
“My nana always refers to them as the ‘Woe Waters.’ She says they’re unlucky.”
– ‘When the Nailbourne Flows’
This discourse between a teenage Carol Wyatt and her geography teacher continues with several more nuggets regarding the history and superstition of Kent’s nailbournes. The Petham Nailbourne flowed through the bottom of my school field whenever the levels rose. Like Carol, I was raised on tales of the ‘Woe Waters’ and the ill fortune supposed to accompany them. I’ve experienced the Elham Valley one (our largest nailbourne) in full flood many times, up close and personal.
Once I’d decided to use the Elham Valley as a setting for a love story about a shy, bookish girl who dedicates herself to raising an autistic relative while feeling life and romance have passed her by, this magical watercourse proved too delicious to neglect as a key component. As the main protagonist, Carol’s core character arc is tied to her (initially) second hand superstitious beliefs concerning the chalk stream. For a time she takes ownership of those beliefs, before unwinding revelations of why her life has followed its particular course help Carol view the waters – and fate, by extension – in a different light.
‘When the Nailbourne Flows’ will be available in Kindle and Paperback formats from 25th September 2024.
John Eden 