Somerset Levels

Another backblip.

Today was sunny and mild. N and I took the opportunity to drive onto the Polden Hills to look over the floods in the Levels. Hopefully we shall never see them again in our life time if the powers that be resume the neglected dredging!

The area is much larger than the views on TV capture, the water sweeps round to the right towards Bridgwater and the coast. An area the size of Guernsey C.I. is under water which includes 32,000 acres of farmland and natural habitat, all is dead and gone and will take months and months to recover taking many wild animals and birds in its wake - no need for badger culls here! We then drove down to Othery on a road through the floods. All roads to Langport were closed, the Taunton one must have been the only one open for traffic. The next day the road to Othery where we had driven was closed as the waters crept higher and higher.

The public are doing a grand job collecting money, blankets, clothes, food and cattle fodder and bedding for the inhabitants. The Dutch pumps have now started pumping three million gallons of water out per day so if it ever stops raining there will be hope for this area.