Floods Day 13

Just a quickie to say that we're still stuck here in Bidford on Avon. The river level's started going down and we now have dry(ish) land at the side of the boat.  The marker's still about a foot in the red but boats have begun coming past, even though they're uninsured and really struggling against the current.
We're hoping the level will continue to drop and that by tomorrow morning it'll be back in the amber and we can set off towards Stratford upon Avon.  We need to get back to Manchester ASAP but even putting in 7 hour cruising days it'll take us 11 days so the sooner we can go the better.

Floods Day 10

Sunday
The heavy rain that had been forecast for the Midlands certainly affected the river level during Saturday night as when we got up on Sunday morning the base plank was under water. That's the 3rd step which was also covered about an hour later.

This level was about the peak. Compare it with the mooring photo above and it may give you some idea of the scale of the flooding here.

These 3 guys turned up late morning looking like they were going to do some serious canoeing.

It was quite entertaining watching them trying to get down the bank into the water, although we soon realised they didn't have a clue what they were doing. Only one of them had been canoeing before and they had no comprehension of how strong the current would be.

The one clinging onto the mooring pole was petrified.  He'd never been in a canoe before, let alone on a river......and he couldn't swim either!  At least he was wearing a life jacket.  Once he managed to pluck up the courage to let go of the pole the current took him racing down river past our boat, while his mates tried to teach him how to use his paddle.  He got about 100 yards and bottled out, managed to get the canoe into the bushes and get out.  His mates paddled about for a bit but decided the current was too much for them and left about half an hour later.

This steam engine went past later in the afternoon.

This is the bridge-hole you use to go through Bidford bridge. The level's so high a narrowboat wouldn't be able to get through at the moment, even if they could fight the torrential current that's raging through it.

Necessity is the mother of invention - Floods Day 9

The river level continues to rise, will it never end?  It's risen 2ft today and is now up above the second step.

Our neighbours have had enough and have booked into a local B&B, lending us their plank whilst they're away which makes it a bit easier getting off. It's fastened to the old mooring sign in case the level rises further and tries to wash it away. Chico's struggling a bit as he can't walk down the gunwale to the plank and it's too far for him to jump to the bank.  We're having to put him on the roof so he can walk to a point where we can lift him down onto the plank and then off.  He's not a happy bunny I can tell you!

This is the water tap beside the boat. We made sure to fill up before it totally disappears. (in the time it's taken to down-load the photos and write this blog, the tap's been totally covered. That's how fast it's rising!! )

The house opposite must have a flooded cellar as bottom of this door is now 6ins below the surface.

The current is running much faster and there's plenty of flotsam coming down the river.  Large rafts of reeds

and even a tree.  It looks smaller in the photo than real life and would give you a nasty bang if it hit you at this speed.

I'm still making baby shoes but I think she's now got enough so I'll have to find another project to keep me occupied until we can set off on our travels again.  The good thing with these little baby things is that they're using up all my odds and ends of wool.

ladybird shoes

baby 'UGGS'

The water's rising again!

The water level's up and down like a bride's nightie!  When we went to bed last night this tyre was only just touching the water. By the time we got up this morning it was half submerged

and 2 hours later it was almost totally under.

Two of the other boats left this morning, despite the marker being back well into the red.  One boat had gone by the time I got up and the other left as soon as the rain stopped. I'm sure people are getting complacent about the state of the river and after lunch we decided to walk down to Marcliff Lock which is the next one down river, about a mile from here, to see just what the conditions were like and see if we were being overly cautious.

 This is the safety boom across the weir.

The marker board is 2ft in the red.

The lock landing bollards are completely submerged

I reckon it would be a bit tight getting through the lock bridge with the level being up so much.

When we got back from our walk the level had risen another 4 ins and had started coming over the bank.

Half an hour later, when I got back from the supermarket, I had to paddle to get back onboard.

We're now back to walking the plank

At least we could get off to go and sit in the sunshine at one of the many picnic tables in the park beside the mooring.

Currently the level is rising at about 2ins an hour and Radio 2 have just forecast severe thunderstorms in the midlands tonight. As this is where the source of the River Avon is that'll mean more flooding down here tomorrow, no doubt.  It's a good job Bidford on Avon is such a nice village, we may be here for a while yet.

Bidford on Avon

This morning the level had dropped another few inches and was almost down to the green marker.

Our friend Brian came up Barton Lock on his way back to Stratford and said that although the weir current was still quite fierce it was nothing to worry about so, with the threat of more heavy rain to come, we decided to carry on and move down to Bidford on Avon. The only time we felt the extra current was going through Bidford Bridge but it wasn't bad really, just needed more throttle than usual.

When we moored up we were the only boat here, but more arrived this afternoon so the moorings are now full again.

We've been in water saving mode for the past week as we weren't sure how long it would be before we'd be able to re-fill the tank.  By flushing the loo with river water, only washing up once a day and taking very quick showers we'd managed to only use half a tank of water in the week since we left Stratford, so it was great to be able to do 2 loads of washing and take a nice long leisurely shower. It's quite scary to think how much water we used to use/waste when we lived in the house.

After such a beautiful morning, the rain's come back with a vengeance this afternoon. I was going to put my wellies back under the bed, but there are huge puddles beside the boat so maybe I'll leave them out for a bit longer.

Floods Day 6

The river level dropped again overnight and at 10.30am was just into the orange, but by 3.00pm it had risen again and is now just on the line between the 2 colours.

You can tell how much it's dropped as the weir is almost visible again. At peak levels this was almost flat.

We walked into Bidford again this morning, trying to dodge between the showers but ended up having to shelter in the porch of one of the small cottages we passed on the way.  The rain pelted down and the edges of the road soon filled up and ran like little rivers.  As fast as the rain started, it stopped and became very hot and sunny.  It's been like that all day, sunshine and heavy showers. Strange weather for July indeed!

This is the river marker in Bidford.  It too was just down in the orange and there's only 1 moored boat left there now. That's Brian on n.b Kyle

This is the indicator sign which shows you which arch of Bidford bridge you need to go through.  I don't know how long it's been like this, but I didn't notice it being on it's side last time I looked over the bridge.  Of course with the river level being higher last time I looked, it could have been submerged.

The weather forecast for the next few days is for even more rain so, providing the level's dropped further into the orange, we may move tomorrow and moor in Bidford.  That's so we're nearer water, pump-out and diesel, just in case the levels start coming back up again. Hopefully, now that the River Severn has dropped below the weir at Tewkesbury, the River Avon will be able to drain into it again and the levels should start dropping more rapidly.  That's providing we don't have a load more rain, of course.

Floods Day 5

The moorings on the opposite bank reappeared this morning as the water level continued to drop and this afternoon we moved over there so that we could get the satellite to lock on and watch TV.

Several boats have come past during the day, in both directions.  This is despite the river level still being 5ins. in the red at 4.30pm. I don't understand them.  OK, so not everyone has the luxury of being a live-aboard and being able to sit it out, but don't they realise that their insurance will be invalid if they have an accident? There's plenty of debris being washed down-stream at the moment and if a tree or large log smashes into a boat with the full force of the current behind it, it'll do a fair bit of damage.

Barton Lock level marker at 4.30pm