Rising water level on the River Ock

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Rising Water
The Ock Valley Walk is still walkable – with Wellington Boots. This picture shows where water from the upper Ock  flows across the path to the lower stream. A little further downstream there is a weir where water is supposed to cross.
Rising Water
Unlike the River Thames with its vast flood plain, opposite Abingdon, the River Ock runs through quite a narrow channel. But at the point where the upper and lower streams meet things are probably safer now,
Rising Water
The picturesque bridge by St Helen’s Mill was pulled down because it was thought to impede the flow. St Helen’s Mill has also been tanked, and a simple wooden gate is put across to keep the Ock on track, and not sweeping round people’s homes..
Rising Water
After the Iron Bridge the Ock helps swell the Thames. There are 7 boats moored at St Helen’s Wharf just upstream from the Iron Bridge. The mooring is more secure than the soft ground upstream from Abingdon Bridge.

The night of the big storm

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Wind
There was not only a lot of rain last night, there was also a strong wind. All sorts of things were blown down.
Wind
A lot of branches had been torn from trees in the Abbey Meadows. Trees and fences came down in other parts of Abingdon.

My mind went back to October 1987, the night of the big storm. That was the time when Michael Fish on the BBC weather said “Apparently a woman rang the BBC to say there is a hurricane on the way. Don’t worry! There isn’t...”  Wind
There was devastation the morning after.

It rained through the day and the night

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Rain
It rained through the day and the night and water levels are beginning to get high – although not yet overflowing the river banks. April has been cool and showery, and there has been more sustained rain of late.
Rain
Yesterday the brave souls from the St Helen’s scout group were trying to hold a book sale / tombola etc. on the Market Place. They had a trailer load of books they had not dry room to unpack. There was also a St Helen’s church book sale and coffee morning in the church centre.
Rain
We did not get a huge turn out to the SARP event at Preston Road, although there is another next Saturday at the rugby club (10-1). The picture shows Aidan Melville, Abingdon’s first ever Labour Councillor for many years, and one of the newer Conservative Councillors, Holly Holman.