Sandy Haven Water Supply
Before asphalt roads, motor cars and electricity and piped water mains came to Sandy Haven, the few inhabitants of this tiny hamlet obtained their drinking water from a spring on the opposite side of Sandy Haven creek. They would cross the creek at high tide by boat and fill their containers with water. Presumably the local stream was contaminated with farm waste. When the owner bought the site and solved the problem of the damp ground and its flooding around the old cottages and put in the new “shell well” as an observation well for checking the water level in the ground, many of the old inhabitants came to see the well and talked about the trouble their ancestors had in getting fresh water. The fresh water spring is very accessible today with an asphalt road leading to it. Access is from Herbrandston village right at the top of the steep hill opposite the school. The road is a cul-de-sac but a popular spot for some dog walkers as it ends on a beach within Sandy Haven creek and has a parking place where cars can be turned around. The spring had a stone box around it to provide a water reservoir and is just above the high tide line at the end of the road. Unfortunately modern vandals and mindless sorts who have no knowledge of the historical importance of springs, have broken down the stones and partly filled it with rubbish, but the water still flows.
