Treacherous...

After yesterday's heavy rain and enforced incarceration, Rosie and I were both keen to get out and about. I decided that Ferry Meadows would be the safest place to go, as there are tarmac paths rather than slidy mud. Although I expected the river level to be high, It was quite surprised by the extent of the flooding - there's virtually no lag time between the rain and the floods, because the land's so saturated.

We tried five different routes round the park, and had to turn back each time becasue the paths were flooded and I was only wearing my walking boots. The greylag geese were enjoying the shallow water, and a single seagull was foraging on the edge of the rising water, picking off unfortunate invertebrates which had been floated out of the grass.

Our last attempt took us through Bluebell Wood. On the way out we took the upper path and only had to pick our way through one rather short stretch ofshallow water. On the way back we descended to the river edge (or where it should have been), as I guessed that the boardwalk would be dry. It was, just, but the river was swirling all around us, and in some places the boardwalk was very close to being flooded. I'd also forgotton how slippery it gets after rain, especially when covered with sodden leaves, and I had to walk the whole length as carefully as if I was on ice!

When the boardwalk finished there was another flooded area, but at that point I just decided to get my feet wet, as I was ready to head home for my second cup of coffee!