#The Bore#
No - not the person in the Club House who persistently recounts his, or her, past moments of sporting glory. This Bore is the spectacular natural phenomenon that occurs from time to time on the River Severn. The incoming Spring tide from the estuary clashes with the flow of water coming down river, resulting in a high, powerful and frothy white foaming wave which forces its way up the gradually narrowing river.
At the end of September, after setting their alarm clocks to an unseemly early hour, members of the MOTO Group gathered, with many other folk, to watch this spectacle.
The Bore arrived more or less on time at 9.30 a.m. at Epney. It came into view and could be heard too as it rounded the horseshoe bend down stream and came towards the bank we were standing on. A group of surfers waited expectantly in its path and a couple of small boats bobbed along behind the wave. With much splashing and considerable force the wave gradually passed by on its way upstream.
The aftermath was most intriguing. The areas on either side of the river began to flood as the combination of sea and river water had raised the overall level of the river. Flocks of birds rose into the air with a great noise as the sand banks where they were resting disappeared and fields flooded on the Forest of Dean side of the river. Water lapped up to the level of the Epney bank too, submerging bushes and grasses and sending a couple of little water voles scuttling for shelter from their flooded homes. That's what comes from ignoring flood warnings. The debris coming up river was remarkable; not just small twigs and branches but fallen tree trunks had been swept up by the force of the water from lower areas and sent at speed up towards Gloucester.
Several MOTO members were so fascinated watching the encroaching water and the floating debris that they missed joining the rest of the Group for refreshments in the warmth of the nearby Anchor Inn. Definitely not a boring morning.
Report by Mary George