Lakeland Belvedere» Keswick

After the November floods

April 30th, 2010

The last week’s seen a burst for summer. Our recently planted oaks have pushed out their first leaves, the azaleas are expanding into flower and the huge beech in the forest above The Larches has now a waving mass of fresh green leaves. This morning a peacock and an orange tip butterfly perched lazily in the sun on the pot of pansies on the Breakfast terrace.

It all seems a long way from the flooded rivers five months ago (see my 23rd November blog posting,), which brought misery and heartache as families became homeless, bridges and footpaths were smashed and hundreds of small businesses were brought to their knees.

The good news is that substantial repair work has been done. At Little Braithwaite, the smashed side of the beck has been rebuilt with huge rocks and a massive bank of earth behind (see photo), while at High Hill in Keswick the Greta river has now a raised concrete containing wall with 6 inches thick facing stones.

The bad news here – according to one of the stone masons I spoke to – is that this is not high enough and it will have to be increased in height at least a further 10 inches when there is more money available. Oh yes and at Little Braithwaite there’s a problem too. The road bridge – which crossed behind the hedge in the middle photo – was swept away and will not be replaced before next year. You’ve probably guessed the reason by now!

Tags: "self-catering accommodation", 2009 November floods, Keswick, Lake District cottage, Thornthwaite accommodation
Posted in Environment, Local news, The Larches, Wildlife | 1 Comment »

Wettest day in a millenium

November 23rd, 2009

It’s usually docile, slinking its way without fuss through the marshes to Bassenthwaite and beyond. But this last week the River Derwent has shown another very different and violent face.

With unprecedented rainfall of over 300 mm in 24 hours last Thursday in Borrowdale, the sheer volume of water pouring off already sodden fells could no longer be contained. Bridges, walls, trees, cars were swept aside as raging waters spread across fields and dykes, raced down streets and wrecked houses in their path.

Most of the national news stories have shown the damage, destruction and despair caused downstream in Cockermouth and Workington, but Keswick and the surrounding villages have had their share of heartache too as the photos below show.

Shops and houses have been flooded, people made homeless, roads closed and at least one bridge over Newlands Beck has collapsed at Little Braithwaite. The wide flood plain of the marshes has taken the brunt of the storm waters and turned Derwentwater and Bassenthwaite into one huge long lake (see Photo above and Nos 3 and 5), but the forecast of more heavy rain this week could bring further misery. Fortunately The Larches and Seldom Seen have been largely unaffected, though there was spillage of surface water onto the road as the gulleys had not been regularly cleared.

Rainfall in the area has been higher than ever recorded anywhere in Britain. Important bridges downstream in Workington and elsewhere have been smashed and inspections of more than 1800 bridges in Cumbria could bring further closures. Inevitably all this raises questions about whether this calamity to hit North West Cumbria is the result of wider worldwide climate change.