Monday, September 22, 2014

Notes from the Mole, Wey and Thames - September 2014

15th - 17th September 2014

North Downs and River Mole - Monday 15th September

View from Denbies Vineyard towards Leith Hill
Walk from Dorking to Leatherhead via Denbies Vineyard, Ranmore Common, Norbury Park, Thorncroft, Leatherhead.

Fine, warm settled weather great for walkers and plein air painters, though it's been a long dry summer for rivers.

Dorking Deepdene. Arrived about half-ten. Across the A24 to the park and pond, then path across the A'road and railway into Denbies Vineyard. Vineyard extensive, extending out the west. Grapes ripening. 

Box Hill from Denbies Vineyard
Started off following tracks through vineyard west, but couldn't find a way up the hill (not PRW), anyway. Retraced steps north acrosd vineyard to NDW and followed that up the hill and round to the west at the edge of the woodland of Ranmore Common. Shade pleasant as it felt warm and sticky in the sun. Continued along NDW to St. Barnabas Church, Ranmore, spire seen further back.


Grapes ripening on the vines, Denbies

Took the bridleway opposite the church north across the Ranmore Common wood. Came out into the combe near Bagden Farm. Sign pointing left to youth hostel about 3/4 mile west at Tanner's Hatch.

St. Barnabas Church, Ranmore
Crossed Chapel Lane, continuing north through Chapel Wood, past Phoenice Farm behind hedge on left - guard dog warnings - into Bookham Wood and the march larger woodland area of Norbury Park. Lunch in the clearing a bit further up the hill from the crossroad of the main paths near the western end.

Following the paths down towards, Norbury House, passed the sawmill. A pair of sculpted tree stumps outside the gates. One had finger / toe like digits, a bit like the tree on the riverbank near Box Hill. The other looked like the head of a pig - or maybe a wild boar (or bore after my trip to the Severn last week). From another angle (like in the pic below) it could have been a fish.  Viewed facing, though, it looked more distressed and gargoyle like than it came across in my drawing.

Lunch stop in Norbury Park

Wood sculpture outside Norbury Park Sawmill
From there, I followed the road down the hill and joined a path off to the left which crossed the railway tunnel and came out of the woods at Icehouse Copse. Then took the path on the west under the A246. The graffiti art enhanced the otherwise barren, boring concrete, though the Flow River arrow in metal was pointing upstream rather than towards the Thames.

Graffiti gracing the Leatherhead bypass bridge

At Thorncroft House I turned right to the footbridge. Between there and the redbrick multi-arched town bridge, the river flowed between islets. Stopped to sketch at bench facing the flint stone bridge between two of these on the far side. A large oyster like shell over the archway. Then carried on crossing the road at Town Bridge, under the concrete B'road bridge and two viaducts into the open area of the Common Meadow.

The Mole near Norbury Park

Thorncroft bridge, Leatherhead
There were scenes around Leatherhead, I recognised from You Tube footage of last winter's flooding. such as the Thorncroft footbridge with the 10mph speed limit sign, where on Christmas Eve I wondered if the river was so fast and furious that it achieved that. Here, too, at the beginning of February, on the day I saw the double whammy fluvial-tidal spillages on the Arun, a lady videoed her trudge through the over flowing River Mole, probably ruining her walking boots.  A forgottten Deep Flood Water sign by a now dry ditch near leisure centre.

The Shell bridge

Leatherhead Town Bridge

Leatherhead Common Meadow

What a contrast with what I saw now:  River levels were very low throughout. I wasn't surprised: the Mole is like that.

A note on local geology and water levels

At Leatherhead, the Mole leaves the Chalk of the North Downs for the London Clay of the London Basin (BGS online geo maps).

Low water levels - Common Meadow,
There is a superficial cover of alluvium all along the floodplain. Beneath this at the southern railway viaduct - Lewes Chalk (later Cretaceous); Thanet Beds (Palaeogene) - sand and silt at the northern viaduct; and London Clay (Eocene) beneath the Common Meadow. If the low water level I saw today was due to alleged swallow holes in the Chalk, I'd have expected water levels through the Common Meadow to have been better than they were upstream. They weren't. Therefore, must be due to the currently very low rates of run-off in the catchment.

The Environment Agency A and CEH say rainfall in England and Wales was above the long term average throughout August, with soil moisture increasing, river and groundwater levels within the normal range for August. Rainfall was well above average over much of Scotland, with flooding in some areas, including the River Lossie near Elgin. EA flow gauge data this week (10th - 16th September) shows the Thames (Kingston) and groundwater dominated rivers such as chalk streams comfortably normal. However, this September so far has been very dry throughout the UK (data from the Met. Office, via this report). As of 16th September, overall rainfall across England has been just 15% of the long term average. In SE England, just 2mm of rain has fallen during the first half of September. The EA say most of their indicator rivers are still flowing within their normal range for the time of year, though rivers in northern and western England, in generally impermeable catchments are running a bit below normal.


On the Mole, things must be better than they were around this time in 1976: compare water levels beneath the A246 bridge today with the photo of from summer 1976 with the completely dry river bed, Surrey Weather Book (Currie et al, 1990) which I'm pretty sure was taken here.

Though we may not have had the hottest or driest of summers, I reckon the past six months have been particularly hard on the Mole and rivers in impermeable catchments generally, especially in SE England where rainfall is lower. Even in March, barely a month after the flooding, the CEH said that it was notably low. Spring was early, dry and very mild. Plants growth has been prolific throughout, sucking up moisture from the ground. Even with the wetter August, I noted from the EA's website that the Mole was below normal during the second half of the month. The soggy August Bank Holiday revived it briefly, though only briefly as it soon all ran away. See my musings along and near the Mole near Box Hill earlier this year:



Wey and Godalming Navigations, Guildford  - Tuesday 16th September

Water meadows - St.Catherine's
A late start before heading into Guildford on the train around midday. There, a leisurely walk along the Wey to Shalford, cuppa overlooking the river in Debenhams, then another stroll up to Dapdune Wharf and the Woodbridge Meadow tree / train sculptures. Didnt rush as, once early cloud / drizzle had cleared and sun came out, it felt warm and sticky. Still very much that into the evening.

Mooring by Shalford bridge

Along the Wey, I did a sketch of tree reflections on the bend near St. Catherines Lock. Enjoyed flowers growing in the meadow / more marshy land inside the bend.

Signs up at various intervals along the towpath with photographs 250 years of the Wey and Godalming Navigations thought it was 360 years last year, but never mind. Near St. Catherines Lock, a photo of the drownded lock and meadow at the height of the 1968 floods. That was the big exception the usual back-to-school-back to-better-weather / rivers low and tired after the summer rule. Took a photo now to show what it usually all looks like, looking upstream towards Godalming.

St. Catherine's Lock today

St.Catherine's Lock in aftermath of 1968 mega-sog



Reflections beneath railway bridge Id crossed on the way to Dorking yesterday. A temporary pontoon, scaffolding etc across the river, work being done on the pipe which crosses here.


Opposite Dapdune Wharf later a bit about the Wey barges, constructed here and launched here, from the side shed nearest the railway viaduct, side off the wall.

Relections at Dapdune Wharf
Further to yesterday, the Wey didnt look nearly as low as the Mole, though a lot lower than it did in the spring, particularly noticeable at Millmead. Think the canalisation of the river, with more ability to direct flows, must help. Along with perhaps a more permeable catchment, though by now the upper reaches of the North Branch in Farnham can look overgrown and anaemic.


Fish eat fish eat fish, Woodbridge Meadow

Tree creature and phone guy in Woodbridge Meadow

My blogs along the Wey 2013 - 2014


The Thames Barrier, Greenwich and the Tower of London - Wednesday 17th September



Arriving in London about 11:00am, I took a train from Waterloo East to Charlton and walked down to the Thames Barrier. It was still foggy and rather gloomy. After the highs on the Severn last week with the spring tides, the Thames was subdued on the neap. All a fitting vibe perhaps for my thoughts of the wider world situation. See above and hints scribbled beneath the water in my sketches, along with notes on flooding and the Barrier's role in protecting London, as witnessed last winter. Not that the is likely bothered about petty human affairs to do with referendums, being probably upwards of two million years old. Even so, I write this on the way home, the long way round from Victoria, just crossed Grosvenor railway bridge, view upriver to the Albert Bridge outline lit up against the fading evening twilight. I wondered to the longest river in England what we'd wake up to on Friday morning.


The sun partially broke through the fog from about early afternoon, shining some light on the Barrier and the river, though the persistence of the fog took the edge of the threatened heatwave. Essentially a re-run of late September 2011. The autumn and winter went on persistently dry threatening drought, numerous rivers dwidling visibly by the year's end. Hope no re-run of that, but the freebie paper I picked up on the train this morning speaks of a "blowtorch" heatwave, with temperatures as high as 27C tomorrow. Presume that's London and hope it's a bit cooler back home, though I get the impression it's foggier to the east. Come October, I could use a bit of autumn, with fresher weather to knuckle down. Don't know what the pollution levels were in London, today, but anywhere near busy roads, eg Tower Bridge early this evening, wasn't pleasant. As in the summer heatwave, the heat builds later in the day, too.

Sketched near play area and cafe in front of floodbank just below the most southerly gate of the Barrier (gate 9) and control tower. In due course, a party of school children turned up for a lunch stop and slide on the slide. The City of Westminster marine aggregate boat passed through the Barrier on the nearside. It had probably come from the works just upstream of the Barrier and Charlton. I had my sandwiches and did another sketch, this time looking between gates 7 and 8  towards the O2 arena (before then the Millennium Dome) and the multiplying Canary Wharf Towers.

Profile of the River Thames beneath the covered walkway near the Barrier
 I then went under the covered walkway marking the eastern end of the 184 mile Thames Path. On the concrete wall on my left, a profile of the River Thames from sea to source. At the eastern seaward end, a mark marking the high tides on 11th January 1993 (the higher one) and Christmas Eve 1988. Below these, near the base of the wall , a line marking the profile of the Thames with height in metres relative to Ordnance Datum, Newlyn, the line rising moving towards the source, most steeply nearer the source at Thames Head near Cricklade, Gloucestershire, about 105m AOD. Along the way, landmarks, major towns and cities such as Oxford, the inflows of tributaries, including the Wey, the Mole (aka Ember nearing Hampton Court), the Hogsmill, Cherwell etc.

From there, I followed the Thames Path and Jubilee Greenway around the Greenwich Peninsula, where the river loops round Blackwall Point, and the O2. on the far side of the Thames the outlet of Bow Creek, where the River Lee / Lea comes out. Went under the chutes / passed the gravelly stockpiles of the Angerstein and Murphy's aggregate works, later under the new chairlift / gondola ride passing high over the river - Emirites something or other. As with the O2, everything round here being named more by brand - usually foreign - than a landmark with any direct connection to the Thames or London. Seeing the chairlift, with it's relatively big ticket to ride, had this surreal idea of suited executives riding the chutes etc of the aggregate workings once they run out of aggregate to dredge out of the North Sea.

Around the O2 - seemingly more successful as a gig arena than its relatively short incarnation as the Millennium Dome through the year 2000. A Monty Python reunion and Kate Bush's first live stage gig for 35 years taking place here recently. Rounding Blackwall Point, a gathering of gulls and comorants on the sand accumulated on the inner bend. View across to the Isle of Dogs with the Canary Wharf Towers. The Blackwall Tunnel passes under the Thames here.

Towers of London
More or less right round the bend from the O2 to the old power station at Greenwich, a building site, with lots of new blocks going up, a luxury cruise ship stop in the making, preparation for a Tall Ships event somewhere here this year. All looked very corporate, big biz, like much of the rest of London's becoming. I sympathise with Scots not wanting be ruled by faraway London, but the dominance of the City, rich foreigners buying up the property pricing everyone else out is making many people living much closer to it feel cut off from the Capital. Building sites at least honoured the route of the Thames Path and cycleways, so I got round to Maritime Greenwich without any obstacles or detours. Another historic high tide mark, this one on a wall in by the Trinity Hospital, for the highest tide of the first half of the twentieth century. 

Approaching Maritime Greenwich

The Cutty Sark

The Cutty Sark
Busy around Greenwich, the National Maritime Museum and Cutty Sark. Didn't go up into the Park as time  was getting on. Had a cuppa in Costa and looked round the Cutty Sark area. Cutty Sark, where it always was, with the masts prominent from the river, the base of the hull now undercover, in the new museum. The restoration, of course, the subject of my father's paintings, wood engravings and the big five block linocut.

Left Greenwich via the subway under the Thames to Island Gardens - unlike the Tube / Docklands, refreshingly cool beneath the river. There, I took the Docklands light railway to Bank. Got a bit lost there trying to get out of the station. Inevitably for this time of a weekday (half-five ish), streets strewn with suits. Big crowds streaming across London Bridge. I crossed Tower Bridge, passing the Tower of London, the moat area in front of the outer walls strewn with poppies. The carpet of red growing August 4th - 11th November, remembering the fallen on the centenary of the start of WW1.





My blogs about the London Thames during 2014






Severn Boats and Bores - September 2014

The Severn Estuary and Gloucester & Sharpness Canal
 8th - 12th September 2014

The Severn Bore at Epney, 11/09/14

During the second week of September, I grabbed a few days away walking and sketching along the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal and Severn Estuary in Gloucestershire. A time consuming, fiddly journey by train and coaches (especially heading home on the Friday), but I was keen to revisit the Purton Boat Graveyard and Sharpness.  Being spring tides just ahead of the autumnal equinox, I had another chance to view the Severn Bore.

I was based at Wild Goose Lodge at Shepherd's Patch, on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal near Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands centre. I'd had three stays here in the 2000s and was disappointed when the hostel closed in 2008, Good to see it living on as WGL. It seems to be most popular (and usually full) at weekends with big gatherings, but while I was there during the week it was fairly quiet. It's much as the YHA left it, including the more affordable pricing. There is a wild goose residing by the pond at the back, though on the Wednesday morning, he / she didnt take well to the a cormorant swooping down into his private pond / patch.

Ripe berries along the towpath
Particularly after the unsettled August and not much in the way of wet weather options in the vicinity, I was relieved when the back-to-school change to drier, more settled weather came. The early mornings walking along the Canal tended to be misty or foggy, with an autumnal feeling; once the sun had burned through the mist it was very warm. All the berries were ripening, with a feast of blackberries all along the towpath.

Purton Boat Graveyard and Sharpness

I had two days here, first the Tuesday (9th), beginning with  leisurely stroll along the GS canal towards the southern end of the canal at the old harbour entrance at Sharpness. I got lots of sketching done, though on the Wednesday, tidal conditions dictated what I did first and took me by surprise.

I headed out fairly early on both mornings, it was misty / foggy, especially the Wednesday when the Cotswold escarpment was fogged out on the eastern horizon. To begin with, it was very damp underfoot with the dew, though it quickly warmed up and dried out as the sun burned through the mist. It remained very hazy all day, particularly on the Tuesday when I couldnt see the Severn motorway bridges from Sharpness, unlike when I was here before. The afternoons were very warm.

Milepost along the canal
Leaving Shepherd's Patch, I crossed the swing bridge to get to the towpath on the western side of the canal. Mileposts along the towpath - north side G for Gloucester, south side S for Sharpness. 4 miles each way between Shepherd's Patch and Sharpness. Early in the morning it was very quiet along the towpath, but for a few swans on the water.  Boats and trees mirrored in the still water. Nearer Slimbridge, the distant roar of the M5, otherwise very peaceful.
Foggy morning on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, 10/09/14

At Purton, two more swing bridges, by the first one, one of the keeper's cottages, with characteristic temple-like façade, characteristic of this canal. Beyond here, a row of cottages. 

Bridge keeper's cottage, Purton


From there on, the canal ran very close to the river. To protect the canal bank against the Severns powerful tides, there are some unusual defences in place: Between 1909 and 1965, numerous boats were deliberately beached here, having served for many years along the Severn estuary. These now form the Purton Boat Graveyard. Many of the boats, particularly the timber framed ones, are rotting away, the ironwork rusting, though the concrete lighters are well preserved.  Id been done a number of studies of this during my trips here in the 2000s. Since then, British Waterways and local groups have added new touches to better inform people of the recent history of this part of the estuary and what the place is all about.

" The Final Resting Place" - " The final journey of numerous barges, schooners, ketches and concrete lighters was to be beached on the banks of the Severn" . These were words on the column listing all the names of the boats in the graveyard, among them The Dursley, Edith, Envoy, Mary Ann, Selina Jane. Behind the column, the tide was now ebbing strongly. All the boats, even if only a few rotting beams remaining, are now marked with little plaques, with key details such as when and where made, many at Sharpness, and when they were beached.

Near the column, in front of the view south along the river towards Sharpness was a plaque commemorating the 50th anniversary (2010) of the railway bridge disaster which occurred on the night of 25th October 1960. A bit further down the canal was stone turret and on the far side of the canal a pillar. This was where trains crossed the swing bridge over the canal. Next to it, the Severn and Wye Railway Bridge which spanned the Severn here until demolition in the early 1960s. Another new information board here outlining its history.

Chris Witts gives a full account of the fateful night in his book Disasters on the Severn, but essentially thick fog and a strong incoming tide meant boats were finding it harder than usual to enter Sharpness Dock. Two tankers, fully loaded with petrol and fuel oil, missed the harbour entrance and drifted upriver with the tide towards the bridge. One of them, the Wastdale H collided with column 17, rupturing its petrol tanks. Then, the Arkendale H collided with the Wastdale. The collision caused two of the bridge spans to collapse, rupturing a gas main and electric cable. Then there was a big explosion as the petrol spilling out of the tankers ignited. Flames spread across the river. Three of the eight crew swam to shore, but the other five were killed.

The view from Purtong towards Sharpness at low water, 10/09/14
On my way back this afternoon, the low ebbing tide revealed two tankers out in the river to the south, probably the remains of the fated tankers. With recent history in mind, there was a sobering, eerie to this part of the estuary, even in the bright weather. As I sketched the view towards Sharpness, warning quotes came to mind:
 
Purton Boat Graveyard
Respect the water (RNLI)
You don't want to be down there when that tide is running
Respect Sabrina and she'll do you the same,
Abuse her and she will most certainly abuse you.

Busy railway line on the far side, with a couple of freight trains. Sound of their passage and whistles carried across the water.

Continued on to the end of the canal, at the old harbour entrance and Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) lifeboat station. Had lunch here and sketched the harbour wall. The shadow against the light, its reflection in the pool of water caught behind the sandbank piled up and curving round the wall. The height of the wall went to show how high the tidal range is here (10m+ on high spring tides). There were strong currents in the middle of the channel as the tide continued to ebb, the estuary narrowing here. Ever changing wave and flow patterns. Some large sandbanks became exposed, the Ridge Sand prominent just north of the harbour. The water now becoming more reflective towards the far bank as relative calm ensued nearing low tide. Downstream on the far side was Lydney harbour wall.

Purton Boat Graveyard


Sharpness - old dock entrance and sandbanks





Sharpness - the present dock entrance


Artist twarted by the high tide 

On the Wednesday, I thought I'd return to the Boat Graveyard and focus on sketching there. 

My sketches are on my art blog

Tidal currents in the estuary viewed from Purton as the tide ebbs
 I left WGL just after 8:00am and by half-nine the sun had burned away all the fog and it was quickly warming up. I got to Purton about 9:20am and found, to my surprise, the tide still rising, the estuary full and the current moving upstream, though not at full pelt. It appeared to be slowing down, tending to the highwater slack, but when I got to the "Final Resting Place" post, I found the water lapping over the concrete lighters beached here. You can't be too careful with tidal rivers, most of all this one. The Boat Graveyard would have to wait. Though I'd noted the bore times at Newnham I didnt looked up high and low tide times until this evening. The predicted bore times for this morning at Newnham, Epney and Minsterworth were respectively 08:35, 09:15, 09:35. High tide at Sharpness this morning was 09:34 (see Tidal notes section).

The high tide laps onto the bank and over beached concrete lighters at Purton Boat Graveyard, around 9.45am, 10/09/14



Below - The same scene after the tide had ebbed during the afternoon, around 3.45pm, 10/09/14





For now, I carried on past the railway bridge remains and instead sketched the view near the old swingbridge tower looking towards the SARA lifeboat station / wall of old dock entrance. I knew I had to get the essential things such as the water height down quickly. By 10:00am , the flow had slowed virtually to a stop and would soon be turning. The high tide was up and over much of the saltmarsh alongside the canal. The water was filling up a channel between the canal bank, with a beached iron boat amid the reeds, and rushes growing on a mud bank separating it from the main channel. Ten minutes later, I saw a seagull on the water here, drifting downstream as soon as he stopped paddling. Then the ebb quickly gathered pace. I think the birds gave up trying to keep up with it and flew off elsewhere. Even this close to the shore, the current was racing along. I noticed the water level visibly dropping. By 10:46, all the water had gone from this near channel, as far as I could see, leaving behind a wide bank of reeds and saltmarsh grasses.

View towards Sharpness from north at 10:00am, 10/09/14

Lower water, around 3.30pm, 10/09/14

By midday, I knew I could safely knuckle down in the boat graveyard now. But I hadnt thought about the mud. The path at the foot of the steps was still wet. As it was so warm, I thought the path through the boatyard would be drying out by now. It was gradually, in the sunnier bits, but not in the longer early autumnal shadows of the hedge separating the riverbank from the towpath. I was relieved I'd worn my trainers and not my (still fairly newish) sandals. Even in the trainers, I had to go carefully: there were puddles in places, the though not deep, the wet mud was slippery, grass still very wet, too. Having fallen over a steel rod sticking up on the beach near Solent Breezes, last week, I was extra wary here. I plodded through beyond the halfway mark. By now, I was getting hungry and needed my lunch. I sat on my rucksack in one of the drier spots, only mud / tide which to narrowly miss at least two dollops of dogs muck,. That got me more than the goes with the tidal mess.

Before knuckling down to the boats, I doodled, making notes reflecting on the Severn and its tides. The water here, though well down on earlier, was still high, covering the sandbanks in mid-stream here. An angry looking channel of turbulent, choppy, very fast flowing water. Everything considered, especially its tidal regime, I'd say the Severn is the most dangerous river in Britain, though Morecambe Bay probably vies with it for the most dangerous estuary. The Severn estuary has the biggest tidal range, as much as 14m at Beachley, one of the largest tidal ranges in the world. It undoubtedly has the fastest tidal river current, be it the rising tide behind the Severn Bore, or the vicious currents in the open estuary, clearly capable of ramming tankers against bridges. 10 knots or more wouldn't surprise me here. Outside the tidal reaches, there's a dangerous stretch through Ironbridge Gorge and it is, of course, very flood prone. Probably in one of Chris Witt's books, I picked up this saying:

Respect Sabrina and she will do you the same. Abuse her and she will most certainly abuse you.

The tidal Thames needs respect enough, with a spring tidal range in central London of around 7m and currents a good 5 knots at full pelt.

Despite the mud etc., I did two sketches here, which I was quite pleased with.

Now early afternoon, I headed back to the old dock at Sharpness and up on to the green area above the cliff, view of harbour wall, of timber or steel girders, at the present dock entrance. Did a circuit of the road past the working dock area, though didn't find an ice cream / refreshments, at the Chandlery in the canal marina or elsewhere.

From about 3pm, I took a leisurely wander back along the towpath. The tide, was now right out, revealing broad sandbanks. All the concrete lighters at The Final Resting Place now high and dry. Ridges of rock exposed in the river bed. Birds wading. Finally a sense of calm in the estuary. Until the next tide

Severn Bore and Severn Tides

Epney - Thursday 11th September

Surfers await the approaching wave, Epney
Still very warm, though less misty than yesterday and cloudier in the afternoon, making for a bit more of an autumnal feel to the Severn. Left WGL at 7.00am. As I left Shepherd's Patch, a red low sun was rising out of the mist to the east. I had the towpath virtually to myself, though I startled a heron on the water. Distant geese flypasts. Past Cambridge Arms, Splatt, Fretherne and Church Lane bridges. All swing bridges. At Fretherne, two large pylons loomed out of the trees. On far side of the canal, factories / warehouses, a high tower of what looked like an old factory. Across Church Lane Bridge, a marina and narrow boats all along the canal. At Saul Junction, a big crane rose above the boatyard. Just beyond here, the Junction House lock keeper's cottage where the canals met. Left this for a look round on my way back later. In the meantime, I took the path from the junction roughly following the remnants of the Stroudwater Canal towards Framilode to join the road round to Epney. This was a very narrow, very overgrown path.  Got wet trainers and trousers amid the dew clad long grasses and weeds. Both soon dried out as things warmed up by the Severn. Pinned on one of the stiles, a photo of flooded fields, beneath it, a few words about the flooding here on 3rd January, during this year's first double fluvial-tidal flood whammy on the Severn. Field here covered with 94 million litres of water, apparently. Wonder how they measured that - field area × depth of water measured by how it came up some bloke / shed, maybe?
 
Pylons reflected in the canal, Fretherne
The road to Epney had no footway. It was very winding and there was traffic than I have liked, particularly walking back. A fair few Chelsea Tractors, SUVs and various vans. Though part of the road ran alongside the river, there was no public right of way along the river between Framilode and Epney.

Through Epney itself, the road ran alongside the river, two lanes, as far as The Anchor pub. No footway alongside the wall where most of the bore viewers congregated. People parked along here, too, blocking lane. Though this location, offered a clear view downriver - further than Minsterworth, I wouldn't have liked to have come here by car and faffed around with parking. As far as I could see, the only off-road parking was at The Anchor, about the same size car park as the Severn Bore Inn. There was a public right of way along the riverbank beyond the pub, but didn't explore that. Generally, there wasnt as much space for people to gather as at Minsterworth where bore watchers could spread out along a public footpath running along floodbanks.

The bore wasn't due at Epney until 09:56 BST. I arrived 90 minutes early after walking about 6.5 miles from WGL . With calm, settled weather, fairly high pressure and very light easterlies, it was unlikely the bore would be early (it can be 20 minutes early). I wanted to allow at least two hours to be on the safe side, not knowing what to expect. I wandered towards the pub, passing an older guy parked up, by the wall making calls on his mobile. Though the pub had a large garden with picnic tables, the view looked a bit restricted by trees. Didn't fancy standing along the road, by the wall. Instead, I sat down on the low wall in the small green area at the southern end of riverside. It was off the road, clear view downriver towards Framilode, hills of the Forest of Dean hazy behind. Behind the wall, a bank if reeds and rushes. The good thing about this setting, as opposed to a floodbank in an open field was no one could barge in front and block the view like that guy at Minsterworth six months ago. Only other sign of life here to begin with was someone's bicycle and a sleeping bag.

I passed the time by doing a small sketch of the view downriver, looking towards a sandbank on the inner bed on the far side where gulls congregated. Later I added one or two surfers. Though much wider than at Minsterworth, there was more of a tidal river feel than an estuary, with water all across the width of the channel. The water was fairly calm, a fairly gentle flow downstream.

The surfers began arriving from about half-nine. "Where is everybody? Yesterday it was really busy. " said one of the earlier arrivals as he clambered over the wall and down the bank into the water. I didn't know how busy it would be this morning, though being a weekday morning, I didnt expect it to be packed.  I noticed later quite a few people parked up along the road watching, though most of them seemed to be the surfers.

As the surfers waded out into the water to wait for the tide, they went to show just how shallow the water was. In places only knee height, waist height in the middle of the channel. Someone commented that the flow was slow. In the still air, the sound of their pre-bore banter carried - "Come on Irene!", "Done this one before?". The two paragliders were a bit noisy, though.

Nearer the due time, a few more people gathered near me, the guy here when I arrived, a lady in running gear, the lady with the bicycle. I first saw the white of the breaking leading wave at 10.04h, as it appeared after rounding the bend in the distance (eight minutes late better than some bus / rail services Id care to mention). The guy asked if I'd been here before. The runner said she was racing the bore on 6th October, part of some event in which runners try to out run the bore. According to Rowbotham, it runs at 8-13 miles per hour, so a challenge at the higher end. Perhaps that's what the people running with torches were doing that night last year when we were with WOUGS at the Severn Bore Inn.




White breakers each side of the leading wave, the longest one on the far side. As waves go, it seemed to approach fairly slowly, though it seemed much quicker as it passed us. The breaking wave on the far side widened. A row of a dozen or so surfers rode it. Could only see the breaking on the near side further down because it was hidden by the reeds, though I could hear it beneath the waves as it passed us. The wider river here made for a shallower leading wave, with numerous smaller ones behind, some of them breaking. The height of the leading one was about 50-60cm. Afterwards, along the road, I heard one of the surfers say it was "mediocre", about 6" higher last night, but he was probably a seasoned bore surfer. To coin Jeremy's phrase last year with WOUGS, I was more than a bit impressed. Certainly higher and more pronounced than that one at Newnham that time (2006, again WOUGS). I'd enjoyed watching it and came away feeling it had made my day.


Turbulence in the Severn as the tide rises at Epney during the hour after the bore



I didn't head off immediately. As we've seen before, most people lost interest once the wave has been and gone and drifted off. I though, hung around to watch the rising tide following on behind it. In many ways, it was just as impressive, for the rapidity, turbulence and sheer volume of water. Once the bore had gone, it quickly gathered pace. Half an hour after the waves (10.35), it peaked it in speed and roughness. As at Newnham, there were shoals of smaller waves and rollers. Near the gauge and ditch coming in between it and the pub, a secondary current ran and joined up with the main one. About 45 minutes post-bore, it began slowing down, though the flow ran upstream for sometime afterwards. I suppose as the river was wider and more open than it had been at Minsterworth, the change in height didn't look sensational: nowhere near overtopping the bank on the far side, though there nonetheless. As the water slowed down, the seagulls on the water appeared content at their more leisurely journey. Earlier on, it looked more as if they were been forced to move faster than they'd have liked High tide, appeared to be around 11.15, seemingly coming to a stop during the next five minutes. By half-eleven, there was a slow but sure drift downstream. Ebb current building by 11.45am. It didn't stop long, then. Where I'd been watching, the high tide got to just below the pear trees. The lady with the bicycle was still there. She tried one and offered me one. It was sweet and very tasty. We chatted for a bit, comparing notes on the bore, youth hostels and independent hostels (I mentioned I was staying at WGL). I spotted May Hill across the river to the west.

My shadow in the Severn - my new take on the "selfie"

High tide at Epney - and pears growing wild

 At about midday, I went back the same way to Saul Junction, the narrow, overgrown path, by now fully dried out in the sunshine. At Saul junction I sat on the bench near the canal junction and swing bridge watching narrowboats come and go, looking up the eastern arm of the Stroudwater / Thames and Severn Canal. This canal runs for 28 miles from the Thames at Lechlade to the Severn at Framilode. A pleasant contrast to the turbulence of the tidal Severn.  On my way back towards the Church Lane bridge, I found a handy café, the Stables Café . By now hungry after my early start, I relished my slice of lemon sponge and mug of tea.


Saul Junction







I then followed the towpath back to Fretherne, , detouring onto the Severn Way near Fretherne Bridge to view the Severn from Hock Cliff. A windy, fiddly walk to the riverbank through woods and fields. Much of the cliff itself was wooded, so not much of a view. A better view from  the open field on the east side of it and along the floodbank lower down. By now it was cloudier and mistier with a more autumnal feel, though still very mild. The river was much wider here than at Newnham, Epney or Sharpness. An interplay of light sparkling on the water, sand banks grey against the light, textures formed by ripples, rivulets etc. across the sand and mud. Rays of sun shone through the cloud. Sharpness harbour wall and hill behind it visible downriver in the distance.

Views of the estuary near Hock Cliff





After sketching an impression, headed back to the Canal and along the towpath. Back at WGL about 5.45pm, pleasantly tired, and fulfilled.


Stonebench - Lower Rea - Friday 12th September

A very time consuming journey home for the mileage this afternoon and evening. Everything running late, starting with the Severn Bore.

I checked out of WGL fairly early, just before 8:00am and began walking briskly along the canal towards Gloucester. It was a 12 mile walk. My rucksack was still heavy. I wanted to get to Gloucester in time for something to eat, before catching the coach to Bristol and begin my journey home. The weather was overcast, the sun not really breaking through until about midday. All in all, then, I wasnt as serious about seeing the Bore as Id been yesterday and didnt feel like big detours from the towpath. It was predicted to be three-star, the tidal cycle having peaked on Wednesday night and now on the wane. Nonetheless, the river was only a five to ten minute walk from the swing bridge at Lower Rea, so I thought Id give it a go if I got there on time. I thought it would be tight: I didnt know the bore timings for Stonebench, so I aimed for the 10.55h predicted at Minsterworth, about 2.5 miles downstream on the far side. Though about 40 minutes later than it would have been yesterday, I had 9 miles walk from WGL to get there.

North of Saul Junction, canal quiet in terms of narrowboat traffic. From Lower Rea bridge, a short walk left along a lane to the river. The road continued left, alongside the river to Stonebench. I turned right onto the footpath past a couple of houses and parked myself on the riverbank, just past the next hedge. The Severn was much narrower here than at Epney looking more like a tidal river than an estuary. It wasnt an ideal viewing point, with trees all along the bank preventing a completely clear view downstream. If Id known Id had more time, Id have looked for somewhere better. I knew I hadnt missed it: the water very slowly but surely moving downstream. With the bus etc. in mind, I was watching the clock more than yesterday. As at the Severn Bore Inn in the dark last year, I thought I could see tantalising tricks of the water or light which might indicate the breaking, leading wave, or something more subtle, but they weren't. Had the tide turned after a so subtle wave, so subtle that I blinked and missed it?. At 11.18, a motor dinghy came upriver. I wondered could that be it, a small, subtle bore lost amongst the wash it generated. If the pressure had risen further overnight, there was a chance the bore could have been smaller than predicted. By half eleven, I wondered if it was stuck somewhere (like my bus later in traffic). It couldn't be right - you cannot change the laws of physics...

Then, at 11:40 by my watch, just as I was about to head off back to the canal, it came, with a rush and lots of noise. Maybe it was not having a completely uninterrupted view downstream that made it seem more sudden than before, though it does move faster in the narrower river than in the estuary. I didnt see it break on the near side, where it was well below splash height, but it made lots of noise, the water swirling in its wake.. It was indeed a fairly small bore, with 2 or 3 waves, with little or no white crest on the leading wave. Nonetheless, caught out by the timing, it took me by surprise and made me jump.


Gloucester docks - nearing the end of my walk along the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal



Background to the bores and tides

After the surprises described above, I checked of online tide tables while away and had a refresher on the tidal regime in the Severn Estuary as a whole (Rowbotham, 1964).  

Little Rissington, weather station nearest Gloucester, 17:00h Wednesday 1021mb, 1023mb, rising on the Thursday evening. If I remember rightly, this would lower highwater by about 10cm.

High tide at Sharpness dock on Wednesday morning was at 09:34h BST, predicted 10.5m (Hydrographic Office, online tide tables). Low water was 18:42h, 0.7m. On Wednesday night, HW 21:54h, 10.9m. Five star Severn Bore predicted. Apparently, there was a good turnout even though it was dark.
Thurs 11th: LW 07:03, 0.7m, HW 10:16, 10.5m. Four star bore predicted. LW 19:23,    0.7m, HW 22:35,  10.7m

Full moon was early Tuesday morning, 09/09/14, 01:38h GMT. This was another so-called supermoon, i.e. full at perigee, its closest point in orbit to the Earth. Therefore it looks bigger and brighter than usual in the sky, particularly when nearer the horizon. It makes for higher tides, too.

In anticipation of potential tidal trouble, the Environment Agency had a few flood warnings and alerts out. On Wednesday evening: 8 FW, including two on the tidal Wye, though tidal Severn Gloucester-Sharpness was on a lower flood alert. Predicted high tides
Epney Wed night 6.3-6.5m, 5.9-6.1m Thurs am.

Timings of bore relative to HW at Sharpness (p52) under average conditions of weather etc.:

Epney - subtract 20 minutes
Upper Rea / Stonebench add 15-20 minutes; Minsterworth - subtract  3 minutes.

Need a high tide of 9.5m+ at Sharpness for large bore (3* or better).

Rowbotham has a good snapshot of what the tide is doing along the estuary at a particular time (Fig 3, p25) during a high spring tide. Theres a point when its high tide near the middle of the estuary (around Newnham and Epney)  and the tide is ebbing at both ends. The tide is ebbing at Sharpness Dock and everywhere downstream of Newnham. Meanwhile, the bore, prelude to the rising tide, is travelling upriver beyond Minsterworth towards Gloucester (Maisemore), running against the ebbing tide there. At 09:34h Wednesday, then it was high tide at Sharpness. By then, the Bore had passed Epney ( due 09:10) where the tide was still rising. The bore would have been on its way to Stonebench (09:49) and Maisemore (10:04) where the tide is still ebbing. On the Friday, the bore was due at Minsterworth 10:55. HW Sharpness was 10:58. From the timings above, the bore would have been due at Upper Rea 20 minutes later, 11:18h.  The bore can run up to 30 minutes late, so 22 minutes late wasnt unreasonable.

Factors affecting the timing and height of the bore: wind strength and direction; atmospheric pressure (in the Atlantic off SW England); the amount of freshwater flowing downriver; shifting channels / sandbanks in the estuary.

High barometric pressure will decrease the bore height, delay it. I dont know where the high was centred, but around Gloucester it was above 1020 millibars on the Wednesday and Thursday. 
The winds were easterlies, though they were generally very light. Strong northerlies and easterlies would reduce the height of the bore and delay it, whereas strong westerlies would raise it and make it arrive early.

According to Rowbotham, the optimal amount of freshwater flowing downstream is 0.75m below Gloucester, apparently. Too much (e.g. winter 2014) decreases the height of the bore, especially upstream, as during and shortly after the fluvial flooding last winter.  High freshwater levels may make the bore arrive earlier. At the end of the summer and into a dry, mild September, river levels were low, though I dont know whether they were low enough to decrease or delay bore.  

Easterlies September 2014 were light, so atmospheric pressure and low freshwater level in river were probably more dominant factors, though maybe water level a bit too low at the end of the summer and predominantly dry weather since the floods receded in March.

From The Port of Southampton tide table, changes in the height of the tide relative to the astronomically predicted height: 1025mb  subtract 0.1m, 1035 subtract 0.3m. From 1015mb down, the height increases by 0.1m for every 5mb fall in pressure.

References and Weblinks

Books

Fred Rowbotham, The Severn Bore, David& Charles (1964)
Chris Witts, Disasters on the Severn, Tempus (2002)

Websites

Severn Bore timetables
Accessed 19/09/14. On the blog page, a video with good footage around Epney of the bore on the Friday, though Im not sure I approve of the use of drones. If their use became widespread anywhere and everywhere, there would be no peace or privacy, even in open spaces such as this. Future walks along the Downs being ruined by a drone delivering someones pizza?
You Tube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFvM4OClnJs



Blogs from March 2014 about the Severn Bore and Gloucestershire area:


Review of Wild Goose Lodge 
Shepherd's Patch, Gloucestershire - Wild Goose Lodge website

A good enjoyable stay. I'd highly recommend to anyone  visiting the Gloucestershire area, particularly on a budget. Hope to be back again.

4-5*
Value for money *****
Double Room (room 7)- ****
Food (evening meal) - ****
Friendliness / helpfulness / efficiency *****

I was attracted to Wild Goose Lodge for its pleasant location near the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal at Shepherds Patch near the Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Centre. I was there for four week nights during the second week of September, walking and sketching along the Canal and Severn Estuary.

Formerly owned and managed by the YHA Slimbridge, this is now run as budget accommodation catering for groups, families and individual guests. They have a mix of double rooms and bunkrooms. In 2014, the prices were respectively £45 per room per night for the ensuite doubles, £40 per room per night bed only but washroom / showers / bath nearby; £20 per person for bunk rooms. Aside from the addition of the more comfortable doubles, the place was more or less as the YHA had left it, with self-catering area and dining area downstairs, the same furniture and crockery. The prices per comparable with the YHA. Having a good, well-equipped self-catering area makes a big difference when travelling on a budget, though they do main course evening meals, £9 per night. Mine were all very filling, particularly the lasagne on the first night and pasta dish on the last. They do breakfast for £4.50. There is pub nearby, too.

Id Strongly advise self-caterers, to bring all the food they need with them (heavy rucksack off the bus from Gloucester, for me, then) as there is very little in the way of shops within walking distance of the Lodge: just a small shop nextdoor to the Black Shed café at Shepherds Patch (open 9:00am 4.00pm). I got the last pint of milk there, but it seemed to have a very limited stock.

In my room (no.7), the bed was very comfortable. Plenty of cushions. The only thing I will say was it might have been a bit cramped for a couple: the bed was only accessible from one side and there wasnt very much storage space downstairs. That said, I thought £40 for the room was very good value (the going rate for B&Bs in southern England now starting from £40 per person). There is a boot room / drying room laundry area downstairs with storage space. Towels are provided in the doubles.