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Date & start time: Saturday / Sunday 21st / 22nd November 2009.

Location of Start : The red phone box, Loweswater , Cumbria, Uk ( NY 143 211 )

Places visited : Maggie's Bridge, Crabtree Beck, Cockermouth, Lorton and home.

Walk details : [ not really applicable today ]

Highest point : The lowering of water levels.

Walked with : Myself with Harry and Bethan.

Weather : Cold wet and windy.

November Gales - Day 3


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A quiet day today and chance to catch up local matters including the many kind messages of concern that you have all sent.

The dogs needed walking, the plans for the village play needed re-organising . . .

and we would benefit from some extra milk in the fridge.

The fields are clearing fast as the Lisa Beck regains it's original course following the work done by the JCB yesterday.

The Buttermere turn is clear of water as well due to the same reason.

[ Hold your cursor over the picture to see yesterday's situation ]

The river levels are dropping but where streams have changed their course water is still flooding fields and roads.

This is the road in front of New House Farm and Tearooms.

The County Council have sent out surveyors using Army helicopters to get about.

This one dropped in to photograph our bridge before flying off to the next bridge on the list.

Todat the village hall is all set up with the scenery . . . but the doors are shut and there's no-one at home.

The play has been postponed, and we hope to run it again in the New Year.

On Tuesday night we ran the dress rehearsal ready for the opening night on Thursday, the day the floods started.

We even have a video recording of most, if not all of the dress rehearsal . . . this could achieve rarity status as the only known recording of the 2009 Play.

All that remains to do now is to carefully unpick it and store it ready to be rebuilt back in the hall in a few months time.

 

There are two main problems :-

This is a photo borrowed from a national newspaper of one of our cast being rescued from the floods. Her mind at present is naturally more concerned with her house than with the play.

The other problem is that some of our audiences must be likewise involved with clearing up after their problems of the week.

Those that are not directly affected by the floods will have great difficulty getting to the hall anyway because of the state of the roads, so it has been decided to postpone it and re-run the play in Jan or Feb 2010

( Photo curtesy of the national press )

 

Crummock Water and the Buttermere Valley from Foulsyke.

The Lakes are still beautiful elsewhere . . . but there's another storm brewing and more rainfall is due.

The dogs had a short walk at Maggie's Bridge.
The water level is still very high and the white depth gauge is under water.

A blocked culvert has forced the water up and out of the road surface at Crab Tree Beck.

The road is still passable . . . but this is the main way out of the valley tonight.

The water level of Loweswater is still high and is still flooding over the grass on the opposite side of the lake.

- - - o o o - - -

After that I drove out of the end of the valley and headed north for Cockermouth.

The Papcastle Bridge has re-opened today after a structural inspection . . . this is the view from the bridge.

The pipeline is probably the treated water outflow from one of the local sewage works.

What is noticeable is how far back the river bank has been cut by the fast flowing waters of the Derwent.

Looking up stream, the river is still twice it's normal width.

In the fields, the detritus of the town is caught in the fences and spread like a tide line across the fields.

Individual items can be recognised, like a pavement signboard on the grass close by, a table, a garden bench

and several bales of farm hay both wrapped as silage and open packed as hay.

Goat Bridge, Cockermouth closed to traffic and inaccessible beyond the police barriers.

The town centre tonight is looking cold, wet, dark and dismal.

Not everything is shut . . . this supermarket survived by virtue of the higher ground and it is open for business.

I bet they are pleased, not because of the extra business but by the fact that they only fully re-opened on Thursday after a major refit.

I hear the Mountain Rescue Team have decorated a tree outside their base and have got the Town Band along to perform a lighting up ceremony.

All is not lost.

Petrol and milk replenished, I returned via the back road to Lorton. The river here is down considerably.

The white house in the centre and the part built house alongside, was as far as Ann and I walked yesterday.

Lorton Bridge, or rather the lack of it.

The water board have jury-rigged two small water pipes to try and replace the supply lost when the large blue pipe under the road was broken.

[ Hold your cursor over the photo to see yesterday's opposite view }

Finally a view of the Land Rover which still stands forlorn in the field below the village.

It's bonnet looks a little bent . . . I wonder what's the chance of it re-starting once it's dried out ?

- - - o o o - - -

[ Post Script: I hear they've closed our Scale Hill Bridge as "possibly unsafe" tonight and there's a tape across the road. We'll learn more tomorrow. ]

[ As all this is current news, click here for the BBC News web page if you wish ]

- - - o o o - - -

 

People who are concerned for the welfare of their family members can call the following help line number for information: 01900 702911.

Members of the public should listen to local radio or visit the Allerdale Borough Council website www.allerdale.gov.uk for further advice and updates. There is also a list of useful contact information at www.allerdale.gov.uk/999

The Council has an emergency 24 hour hotline number for any enquiries relating to flooding incidents in the borough. Anyone seeking advice or information on issues such as temporary homelessness, street sweeping or requests for sandbags should call 01900 871080.

 

- - - o o o - - -

 

Technical note: Pictures taken with my Canon G10 digital camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . a revised road map of the valley.

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Previous report - 19th Nov 2009 The November Gales - Day 2

A previous time up here - 23rd October 2008 A stormy Loweswater 2008

Next report - 23rd Nov 2009 After the November Gales - Day 5