Much as I appreciate the response and agree with you Patty, I must clarify that my clay is very much Scottish and not English. Lol.

You have a point though. I never really meant when it was baked dry though. I'm thinking that happens less in Scotland than it would in California anyway. I just wondered if there was any point digging it while it was efectively a pond. The rain has been relentless here since I actually dug it out. I am going to get out there with a fork tonight though to see if I can't get a little bit of it to drain away.