When I was planning this trip many months ago, I was mindful of the fact that one of the big differences between rivers and canals is that rivers can, and do, flood, whereas canals, being man-made, generally do not. I couldn't get the images of the flooding at Tewkesbury last year out of my mind and was worried that if the start of our trip coincided with a period of heavy rain, we might not even make it on to the Avon at Tewkesbury.
Thankfully my worries were groundless. As we joined the Avon, the lock-keeper told us that the river was down to a low summer level and the colour showing on the flood warning signs was green, so no risk.
Our picture shows the explanation of the colour coding system in use for flood warning on the river. Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can read the description against the colours.
We did have some heavy showers in the 2 days immediately after joining the river, but we thought nothing of them, as they didn't last long. The exception was the occasion of our arrival at Bidford-on-Avon, at around 5.00 p.m. on the Tuesday of our holiday. It started to rain almost exactly as we moored up for the night (good timing we thought) and it was still raining when we went to bed. Again, we took little notice, as we were snug and dry and, as it was evening, we didn't want to go anywhere.
The next morning was dry and quite sunny, so we had a leisurely start to the day, lingering over a second cup of tea and taking the opportunity to look round Bidford. When we eventually cast off, we anticipated an enjoyable day's cruising, no different to normal.
It was only as we went through the second lock of the day (and it is at locks that the flood warning indicators are found), that Fred spotted the fact that the water level had reached the orange section (increased current, proceed with caution) on the flood level indicator. I hastened over for a closer look, and in our picture above, you can see me peering down, noting with alarm, that not only had the water reached the orange zone, it was very close to the top. No wonder, making progress upstream had felt like hard work!
As it was such a lovely sunny and dry day, I told myself that the level should be going down fast now, so there should be nothing to worry about. A close call though, I thought.
It was just over a mile to the next lock. As we approached all eyes anxiously turned to the flood warning indicator and this is what it showed ...
I was horrified to see that the water had now risen over 6 inches into the red zone. I tried not to show the anxiety I was feeling and to remain calm and collected, so that none of my crew would panic. As I am a responsible captain and had the safety of my crew to consider, I made a fast and important decision. If the instruction for the red level was to stop and moor your boat due to danger, we would do just that. And so, we went through the lock, tied up at the official moorings just after it, and thought about what to do next.
To be continued ...
Lots of love, Eddie & crew xxx
1 comment:
Yes Eddie you were very calm and none of us were worried. We trusted your superior river craft and decided to make the most of an unexpected rest and a nice mug of tea! Fred.
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