Waterworld!...

The great thing about a kayak is, when the road stops, you don't have to! With a large part of Britain sinking into the sea after our two months of rainfall, I decided not to let it get me down and went exploring instead.

Some car parks near the River Tame seemed a good enough place to start as they were relatively shallow.

I felt sorry for the owner of this nearly new Nissan. We had spotted it the night before when we came down at one in the morning to watch the main 'bulge' of flood pass through Tamworth and then only the topmost of the roof was showing.

I checked the prices on the ticket machine.....no mention of kayaks.

The water was only up to the top of the wheels here but I wanted to get to the far side of the old bridge up ahead. A drainage channel goes from left to right up by the arch and the current was whipping by. It was so low under the arch that you would have to lie down to get underneath, the thought of getting trapped put me off.....

....so I headed off onto the other car park. This one was a bit deeper and led over to the high bridge where the River Anker and River Tame join.

On the surface all appeared calm, but there was a confusion of eddies and current that were really unsettling. I took a break hanging onto this sign.

The kayak kept bashing the tops of signs and bollards as I paddled off into the parkland. I was glad to reach the deeper water.

Now, which way to go?

NOT that way! It looks quite choppy and then I noticed the saplings being ripped from the ground!

This way I think. I've got the world to explore.....waterworld...

A river runs through it.....

When I arrived at the canal at Drayton Manor it looked rather more full than usual! At the marina there was a lot of fuss and panic. People were rushing about loosening off the mooring ropes to prevent the longboats from flipping over.

Many of the boats were upping stakes and leaving....All these things should have set alarm bells ringing in my head, but no. Off I went paddling merrily ever onwards....

After a while, I noticed the river on my left was getting kind of....big! Still, it seemed to be a way off still, so I carried on. Paddling began to get increasingly difficult. There was definitely a current forming. I didn't think much of it at first, you often get a bit of movement if the locks are being used a lot.

Then... all of a sudden the water acquired a peculiar 'glassy' look, really odd, a bit like the when a bathtub is about to overflow... The level raised and the towpath disappeared underwater. The canal started to cascade over the sides and the slight current increased to a running speed. Sensing danger, I got the camera out. After quickly snapping a couple of shots, I decided it was time to go!

The river had risen so much it had met the canal and now the two were one. Paddling furiously downstream, I picked up quite a speed and was relieved when the flow began to abate. Even when I was back on still water I carried on at a great knots, scared that the river might catch up.

I was so glad to get back to the car. I quickly loaded up, and just in the nick of time. The water was rising and the small fish under the car weren't a good sign. Hastily scooping them back into the deeper water, I made my escape......

Rain, rain, rain.....

It just gets worse.... It's been raining for weeks and weeks! Yes we have the occasional one off sunny day, but then it's straight back to the incessant rain. Tamworth, a few miles from my house is particularly badly effected.

This is the view from the old bridge. There should be a park, football pitch, a small stream with a footbridge. According to a soggy notice stapled to the gatepost, 'Tomorrows football practice has been cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch.' I think 'waterlogged' is an understatement!

A truce had been declared among all the little animals scrambling onto the few remaining patches of dry ground. Some were late, too busy admiring the spectacle from the bridge!

Wartime defences were no defence....

A deep rumble echoed from under the arches of the old stone bridge as dark waters surged through, swirling out forming powerful whirlpools which had no problem pulling large logs beneath the surface.

No skating in the park today. A warning sign declares that 'suitable protective clothing should be worn at all times'....not sure what I could suggest!

Under the high main road bridge, the water was almost above head height!

These huge Sweet Chestnuts were having their lower branches torn off by the sheer force of water.

A mile or so from Tamworth is the community of Fazely. Here the river is held at bay by a polder, but it wasn't coping and the river was beginning to win. The environment agency bought in pumps....

.....but it wasn't up to the job. Worried residents gathered in groups while a bigger replacement was sort.

I'd be worried too if only this loose earth bank was all that was between miles of floodwater and my house! GOOD LUCK!!!!....

Hilltop bunker....

I came across another nuclear bunker today. It's not particularly obvious from the road (it's in that grassy bit in the middle of the photograph). There is a footpath here and it was the concrete plinth leftover from the aircraft lookout point that gave it away. These nuclear observer bunkers are always high up, this one is on the hill above the River Trent near Elford.

This bunker seems quite intact, although the three padlocks and the lock over bar were missing.

To the side is a concrete step, still in one piece, these always seem to get vandalised first (probably used to try and break in!)

Next to the hatch is the secondary vent shaft (the bit with the louvres) and on top of this is the circular mounting plate that the GZI (Ground Zero Indicator) would be fitted. This was basically a pinhole camera affair with holes facing each of the cardinal points. In the event of a nuclear explosion, the exact point of impact could be calculated. Unfortunately for the operator, the photographic paper had to be retrieved manually by opening the hatch! (Who's got the short straw!)

This is the FSM pipe (Fixed Survey Meter). The cover plate would be unbolted and a plastic dome put in its place. From inside the bunker a metal rod would be raised with a small ionization chamber on it (Plessey PDRM82F), this would measure the amount of radiation.

The main ventilation shaft is at the opposite end of the site. This also housed the BPI (Bomb Power Indicator). Simply a baffle connected to a tube which led down inside and operated a bellow fixed to a meter. It all sounds very basic, but this is deliberate and follows the reliable 'keep it simple, stupid' principle.

The extra bit on the side of the vent indicates that this was a 'master' post. Linked to HQ via radio.

Wooden louvres don't seem right somehow, maybe there's a reason.

Underneath the peeling green camouflage paint, there seems to be an odd silver layer. Is this to reflect blast energy?

It looks as if someone has got into this recently. It looks disturbed and the 'Halfords' lock and zip tags aren't military issue!

On closer inspection you could see the clasp had been hacksawed. This must have taken absolutely ages.

The other locking loop showed all the signs of bolt cutter damage. Distinctive vee cut ends and stress marks on the remaining bit.

I ran some candle wax into the crack of the hatch, this way I'll know if someone has been in. I'll pop back soon...

Raining cats and dogs!.....

I can't believe it... raining still! It never stops. It's the middle of the day and you still need the lights on. My feet are beginning to web and I'm evolving gills behind my ears... In fact, it's raining 'cats and dogs'! And here's the proof!

Two months nearly it's been raining now, with barely a let up. The BBQ is rusted and almost fully overgrown.

Fed up I decided to go kayaking anyway, but when I got there I found the river was so high that it was dangerous to go in. The normally calm mill race at Alrewas was a torrent. An alarmed Mallard shot past spinning wildly on a mat of river weed and quickly disappeared into the distance. Further downstream on the quieter canal section things weren't much better. A long boat struggled against the flow, engine racing it barely managed to get to the lock and had to be tied in before they dared opening the gates. Long boats were designed to be towed by horses and aren't built for speed, but going downstream they were travelling faster than I could run. Many of these boats are hired by the week by holidaymakers and there were frightened faces as they sped past desperately trying to steer their newly acquired floating homes from the clutches of the weir. It looked as if the barrier had already taken a few hits and debris were starting to pile up against it.

There are several weirs along this stretch to spread the load but although this is a wide one, the waters were still rushing over at quite a rate. The photo never shows the extent of things, but the break wave was a good 5 foot high!

Defeated by the weather, I decided to go off to Ikea ( you have to be fairly defeated to go to Ikea on a weekend!), but on the trip back the sun popped out for an hour, so I stopped off at Barr Beacon. This is the view of Birmingham City 6 miles away.

The bandstand was back lit by the sun, which gave it a Stonehenge sort of a look.

The clouds returned, and England submerged into the gloom once again.

When will it stop raining????!

Cat Burglars!....

All was quiet in the garden...too quiet! The mice were hiding in the ivy, the birds were nowhere to be seen.... "You found it?", "Yeah, there's loads!"

"Shift over, I'm coming down."

"It's not very big is it? It looks huge from the ground." "You're on my tail!"

"You get what you can, I'll keep look out."

"Well who's that then, down there?" "It's just one of the 'uprights' from the big house, you know, the one thats always got that goggly eye thing all the while!" "Oh, he's alright, he won't tell, I'll smarm up to him later, he's a succer for that."

"Come here, there's some more, I can smell it!"

"I don't get it, if it's meant for us why put it in this cage thingy?"

"What ARE you two up to?!" "Nuffing......"