The Winter River Season — So Far!

The River Sowe at Longford, Coventry. It's been over its banks three or four times in recent months and whenever it's been contained within them it's been only just. Longford Park was underwater at one point and I've never seen that happen before. Even my spaniels were amazed by the transformation of their daily haunt.

The river under this footbridge is usually a good jump across from one bank to the other and less than a foot deep, but recently it's looked like a river five times its true size. At the height of the floods it was up to the handrail. It's started carving new channels across the flood plain — one looks like it might be the new course if it deepens sufficiently and if this constant rain continues then it might well do it! 

Mother Nature eh? Last Winter no rain to speak of, this winter the deficit made up in a month. 

The land is saturated upstream of here and there's a lake formed next the river in an arable field near the Ricoh Arena. It doesn't fall much in level even when it doesn't rain for a week which explains why the river has been flowing strongly all the time between bouts of rainfall. I had roachy plans for the Avon, but they've been shelved. Roach fishing is no fun in such conditions and because the Sowe is a tributary of the Avon I know by its condition whether its worth bothering with the mother river and it's never fined down in all the time since the rains began. Its been the same brown colour for as long as I can remember and every time it's looked as if it would start to clarify, it's started all over again.

It can't last forever, can it?