Monday 6 January 2014

Flooding near Silbury Hill.

The flooded River Kennet, with a distant Silbury Hill.


It has rained here for the past month.  Not gentle rain, but heavy continuous stuff, that has flooded the rivers, villages, town, flood plains and fields.   So much rain has fallen, that it now has nowhere to drain away.  The ground is waterlogged, and everyone is a miffed, that the normally wet UK is wetter than ever, and with global warning, is set to get even worse.

Flooded fields near Avebury.

This field is near the River Kennet, and acts as a flood plain for the overflowing River Kennet.  The river is a "winterbourne" meaning it can be dry in the summer, but becomes flooded in the winter months when it rains.

On the little bridge over the River Kennet.

I have stood on this bridge in all weathers and in all seasons.  In drought conditions, the river bed is completely dry, but it becomes a torrent in wet weather.  I have photographs of the dry bed, and in ca. 2006 to 2011, when the weather was exceptionally dry, we were all concerned about the lack of water.  Would the river ever return was the big question?   We need not have worried, it has returned with a vengeance!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Vicki
    I was just revisiting some of my old articles on the web and thought you might be interested in this:

    http://www.louistalboys.com/avebury

    I must have posted it around 2007, well before the recent deluges. Regards Dean.

    ReplyDelete