Westonzoyland is a village and civil parish in the Somerset Levels, four miles south east of Bridgwater. The last battle in England, Sedgemoor, was fought near to the Bussex area of the village in 1685.

The drilling crew from A.E. Yates Trenchless Solutions recently directionally drilled and installed 560m of 315mm pipe in one bore under the very same battlefield.

Following discussions with the client, Wessex Water, AE Yates TS Ltd proposed installing the pipe in one single bore rather than two separate shots as originally required. This would eliminate the need for an intermediate pit, relocating drilling rig and associated plant and requiring the client to pull a second pipe string to mid point pit. The bore would pass under agricultural land and three deep drainage ditches, so AE Yates TS Ltd proposed installation at approx 8 metres deep to minimise the risk of mud break out in the  environmentally sensitive area.

Due to the very soft nature of the ground, a working compound was created by the client using timber bog mats. After initial mobilisation and set up of Powerbore 70 tonne drilling rig, mixing unit and recycling plant, the pilot bore commenced. The drilling rig had recently been up graded to 5" drill rods, and having received ground information from the client that below the overlying layers of peat, the ground was extremely soft clay, a 250mm steering shoe was fitted to the front of the drill head.

The drill head was pushed into the ground, which proved to be so soft that the steering shoe had little effect on the required change of direction. After drilling 45 metres, the decision was taken to enlarge the steering shoe to 375mm wide, larger than the pipe to be installed!

The pilot bore was recommenced with the enlarged drill head and a pilot bore 560m long was drilled out in only 6 and a half hours,

The following day, the pipe to be installed that had previously been welded in one string by the client was pulled to the exit pit by a 20 tonne excavator. The drill head was removed and a 450mm barrel reamer attached to the drill string. Behind this was placed an 80 tonne swivel and attached to the pipe via a mud tight towing head. The pull back commenced and was completed in 8 and a half hours, the day after the pilot bore.

The client, Wessex Water, were extremely pleased with successful completion of the installation within the required timescale and with the minimum of fuss and mess.