So the heavy rain of recent days has filled the rivers which flow down from the Yorkshire Dales and through the city of York, with the inevitable result that the River Ouse broke it's banks and flooded some riverside areas.
This shot shows the view of Kings Staith from Ouse Bridge. Flooding here is not unusual, and adaptions have been made to the buildings to help them to cope. As an example, the Kings Arms, on the left, stores it's alcoholic drinks upstairs, rather than in a cellar. The floor of the bar is of flagged stone, and the internal walls are bare brick. It is amazing how quickly the Kings Arms is back in business after the flood water recedes. The flood has peaked at around 3.3 metres (10 feet 10 inches) above normal, and it should now clear quite quickly.
We are well know with this nature dissasters. We try to take precautions against it so it won`t happen again. Great shot of showing the flood and the nice buildings by the river. Fav.
A beautiful scene for the eyes but worrying for those who dwell there. I guess one gets used to it and makes arrangements like The Kings Arms for such eventualities. Our floodings don't last for long and are only 1 or 2 feet high. Everywhere being close to the sea floodings pass very quickly.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, which put this shot on the trending and popular pages.
I should say that this shot is rather misleading, in that very few properties were affected this week. The land behind these buildings rises quickly, so it is often only the properties right next to the river that are affected. Other areas of the riverside have flood defences, but there has always been strong resistance to flood defences here because it would "spoil the character of the area" (we have to look after our tourist industry!). Minor floods of this type occur most years, but usually later in the winter. Their frequency does seem to be increasing, and the record height for a flood was in 2000 when the city came within a few inches of a major disaster.
By coincidence there is a display of proposals to improve the flood defences tomorrow in a city centre hotel, so I hope to go and see what is suggested. This follows a disasterous flood at Christmas last year when some 600 properties were flooded after the failure of a key part of the defences. The flood gate on the River Foss that failed then is already being upgraded.
Finally another true story about the Kings Arms. Lucy had a voluntary job at the tourist information centre some 3 years ago, and one couple called in asking how they got the pub that always floods, so they could go there for a drink. Lucy explained how they could get there to see it, but that they wouldn't get a drink that day because it was flooded. They were very disappointed!
It's a lovely walk along the riverbanks in York - but at the moment rather muddy, even though the water level has dropped and the river is back in it's channel.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, which put this shot on the trending and popular pages.
I should say that this shot is rather misleading, in that very few properties were affected this week. The land behind these buildings rises quickly, so it is often only the properties right next to the river that are affected. Other areas of the riverside have flood defences, but there has always been strong resistance to flood defences here because it would "spoil the character of the area" (we have to look after our tourist industry!). Minor floods of this type occur most years, but usually later in the winter. Their frequency does seem to be increasing, and the record height for a flood was in 2000 when the city came within a few inches of a major disaster.
By coincidence there is a display of proposals to improve the flood defences tomorrow in a city centre hotel, so I hope to go and see what is suggested. This follows a disasterous flood at Christmas last year when some 600 properties were flooded after the failure of a key part of the defences. The flood gate on the River Foss that failed then is already being upgraded.
Finally another true story about the Kings Arms. Lucy had a voluntary job at the tourist information centre some 3 years ago, and one couple called in asking how they got the pub that always floods, so they could go there for a drink. Lucy explained how they could get there to see it, but that they wouldn't get a drink that day because it was flooded. They were very disappointed!
Ian
It's a lovely walk along the riverbanks in York - but at the moment rather muddy, even though the water level has dropped and the river is back in it's channel.
Ian
Very true Vesna - there are records of flood heights in York going back several hundred years, and the record height was in 2000.
Ian