Cumbria Naturally
  • Home
  • Blog
  • My Books
    • Cumbrian Contrasts
    • A Lakeland Experience >
      • Introduction
      • Derwent
      • Langdale
      • Ullswater
      • Kentdale
    • About Scout Scar
    • Atlantic Odyssey
  • Other Writing
    • What Larks!
    • Further - Explore Shetland
    • Autumn Migration
    • Rydal and Nab Scar
    • Perspectives
    • The River Kent
    • Wings
  • Gallery
  • Contact

The Rivers Kent and Eden: after the floods

20/12/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureThe ecology of the River Kent
The life-giving rivers of Cumbria, traumatiised . Picture the ecology of our rivers  before we inflicted climate change upon them.  The Eden, whoever named that river, asked a voice on radio Cumbria as the river blasted Carlisle.  What were they thinking of?  The blissful garden that John Milton evokes in his poem Paradise Lost?  Lost, and we lost it. Eden Bridge is closed, unsafe, no way back to Eden or into Carlisle by Eden Bridge.  Like the pedestrian bridge across the Kent that leads to St George’s Catholic  Church. Although the Church is open , the churches are welcoming and focused on flood relief

Picture
Pedestrian bridge over the River Kent
The big clean-up is underway.  From a wing abutting Abbot Hall, workmen rip out contaminated floorboards spiked with nails . All along the riverside the flood has wrecked sections of railing and  safety warnings and temporary repairs are red for danger.   An abandoned sofa stands on the walkway beside a skip heaped with floor coverings-.  Where do you find sandbags in an emergency? On line, iit would seem, but the branding isn’t quite right. Quicksandbags. ! 
The damage, the numbers of families evacuated, is  much greater than at first appeared.  It is made visible in all the skips piled high with contaminated goods.  The skip piled high  is the motif in the aftermath of floods.  
The impact on the health of the river is less visible. A friend reported seeing a slick of fuel on the water and that mud where the crayfish, bullhead, minnows and sticklebacks gasped was sewage contaminated sludge.  Large tree trunks brought down in the flood now lie stranded. Once the river calms again you can work out how the bed of the river has been changed. Below the weir at Stramongate  the river is constricted into a channel by huge beds of stone and shingle brought down in the flood, now dumped in the bed of the river. 
There’s litter everywhere, street litter. Kendal is a well-kept town, by and large. I suppose all resources are being ploughed into flood relief, ensuring safety , keeping the roads open.  Even so, it will be good to see the streets clean again. 
18th December was yet another day of rain.  The dullness of my images tells the story, and a saturated camera strap once I was home again with wet waterproofs to dry out.  Goosander are a highlight of the river Kent and the males are so handsome. The position of that shingle bank has shifted and enlarged in the flood. 
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    Jan Wiltshire is a nature writer living in Cumbria. She also explores islands and coast and the wildlife experience. (See Home and My Books)

    Archives

    July 2025
    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    November 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    April 2010
    January 2010
    November 2009
    January 2009
    January 2004

    Categories

    All
    A Local Patch
    Birdlife
    Butterflies And Moths
    Flowers
    Locations
    Views
    Walks
    Weather
    WIldlife

    RSS Feed

Website
Home
Blog
Gallery
Contact



​Cookie Policy
My Books
  • Intro - My books
  • ​Cumbrian Contrasts
  • A Lakeland Experience
  • About Scout Scar
  • Atlantic Odyssey
    ​
Other Writing
  • Intro - Other Writing
  • What Larks!
  • Further - Explore Shetland
  • Autumn Migration
  • Rydal and Nab Scar
  • Perspectives
  • The River Kent
  • Wings
Jan Wiltshire - Cumbria Naturally
© Jan Wiltshire 2022 All rights reserved
Website by Treble3