I hoped I would never have to post photos like these again after the remarkably similar floods in 2009 but unfortunately I do and this is my small part of the story. The good people of Carlisle, Keswick, Cockermouth, Appleby and Kendal (and many places in between) fared much worse than we did in the south west of Cumbria – my heart goes out to them all. Today’s photos are all iPhone photos sorry, that’s all I had.
I took this one on Saturday afternoon on the way to Bowness - the River Leven looks high here but it does get higher as you will see later on.
The reason for going to Bowness was to take sandbags and try to stem the flood waters - although not deep the water was running from the hillside behind then through the shop from back to front in this photo. The sandbags were in place to stop it going into the other half of the shop. Next door in Villa Positano was much worse, they had a full waterfall through the restaurant and next to them the Bodega Bar was also flooded right through. There was so much water coming through, they called the Fire Brigade to help pump it out.
They only had a fleeting visit though - rightly enough they had bigger fish to fry tonight. Anyway, I had an interesting evening sweeping water from the shop until it seemed to subside enough for me to feel easy enough to leave it. I left for home via Windermere and across to Kendal as I thought it would be better on the main roads - hmm, let's just say my heart was in my mouth through Bannerigg and Ings! When I got to the A591 roundabout it was shut so there wasn't really a way to go. I cut across the top of Kendal and had a go along the Underbarrow road but just before Underbarrow the road was impassable to to deep flooding, even in our 4x4. Strangely enough, I was flagged down there by a paramedic who had been waiting for the MRT to pick her up for over an hour as she was supposed to be on duty in Kendal so of course the least I could do was take her there so that she could carry out the good work that was needed in and around Kendal. Kendal itself was completely blocked due to the flooding and not really fancying the journey back to Windermere in those conditions, there really was nowhere for me to go. The nearest option was to get a room at The Gateway Inn but (of course) there was no room at the inn. Kindly they let me and 20 other stranded motorists sleep in their bar area where they provided duvets etc so a great big thanks to them from me and the rest of the unexpected guests.
Up at the crack of doom on Sunday and bolstered by tales of relatively flood free roads from the arriving staff at the inn, I headed back to Bowness to check out the shop hoping the damage was not too bad. Miracle of miracles - the shop was dry so after a couple of hours we managed to re-open as did the others affected by flooding on Ash Street, Bowness. I was however, mindful of all the people in Cumbria that have been affected by the flooding in their homes - it is tragic, just awful.
The photos I took on the way home are all reminiscent of the 2009 floods, the water is just as high. at the time it was said that it could never happen again. I certainly did not expect to see water levels this high in my lifetime. This is Bowness with the lake so high it is up over the main road.
The ticket offices for the ferry are under water as is the TIC (again) just out of view.
The A592 just past the marina is blocked and there are a coupe, of cars that didn't make it. The rest of the A592 was like a cars graveyard, littered with those that did not make it through.
Windermere marina.
Flooded again.
Down at Newby Bridge, I knew what to expect.
The Swan Hotel under water.
Newby Bridge and the River Leven.
Anyone familiar with Kin Toffee Vodka that we sell in our shop? Well this is where it is made - I talked to Mick and Judith for a while and they were typically sanguine about it all with a 'business as usual' attitude from them. That is the Cumbrian spirit (in more ways than one)!
At Backbarrow, the road is understandably closed.
Once again the River Leven is over the bridge and the Whitewater Hotel is once again flooded...
...as are the holiday lets.
These two don't let a bit of water get in the way of a good ride on the east side of Coniston!
The River Crake at Lowick - the tress show the normal line of the river. At least those downstream at Spark Bridge did not get flooded this time.
