LAS247 suprise 40th B'day, Flooded !
Many month's ago a plan was hatched for a birthday surprise for my best mate Lee (LAS247)
He thought he was just coming to mine for a week and we would do the odd paddle day
Anyway the plan dictated, I needed to get Lee out the way on Monday, whilst the girls picked up the keys to Hammerhole.
http://www.graythwaiteholidays.co.uk/hammerhole.html
So we headed of to Derwent Water only a few pictures as it was chucking it down and blowing a gale ominous sign of thing to come.
Just before this it had become too windy to make any head way, so we tandemed in mine and started towing Lees Bell but on the down ward run, it was over taking us and trying to flip so we tied it along side and ferry glided back to Kettlewell car park.
Once back at the jeep and loaded it was only 2:30pm and the girls weren't due to get the house till 4pm, so a drive round Derwent water and a stop at the Traveller's Rest at the bottom of Dunmail Rasie for a pint,killed enough time and gave me the cover of darkness to make the necessary course alterations without Lee noticing.
So you can imagine his surprise when I pulled down the drive of Hammerhole on the shore's of Windermere and uttered you bought me a pole for my Birthday, I got you a house
We immediately went in and explored every room and found our favourite, a paddlers dream a red hot drying room
Tuesday dawned bright and but with a breeze, we messed around in the sheltered bay in front of the house I made a temporary lea board out of a paddle strapped to the canoe and sailed across the lake and back a few times.
Then we headed into Ambleside for some shopping, followed by a pint or two in Hawkshead.
Wednesday arrived bright to start with our man the birthday boy could be found looking out over his land sporting his birthday present from me a pair of Muckboot Trent's.
He informed me we were off to paddle the River Rothay, as I had mentioned levels were good for a trip down from Rydal Water.
Problem was today we had another surprise lined up, so I faffed about and stalled for time.
Then at 11ish Paul (Pauly) closely followed by Graeme (Redkite) and family, pulled down the drive. The little man was beside himself, especially when he got his second present a Duluth number 4 nearly as big as him.
We then arranged a paddle down to the southern end of lake a place non of the guys had paddled before and a completely different experience to the other end of Windermere much quieter and more scenic.
Paul and Graeme in Bell Yellowstones, Lee and myself tandem in the Mohawk Nova.
We stopped on Blake Holme for a brew and I had a play with my new toy from yesterdays shopping trip.
Then we pressed on in the rain that wouldn't stop for the next 48hrsto Fell Foot, before heading back to the house under the cover of darkness, it was a really enjoyable paddle despite the rain.
That evening dictated a night in the local pubs all two of them!
Thursday dawned wet and windy, but still we did not realise how wet, Graeme was found in the dinning room reading some filth
Graeme and family decided to head off home back to Scotlandshire,the rest off set off to head into Ambleside.
Myself Paul and Lois went in the Jeep Lee, Sue and Tracy in Lees Audi, I set off for a short cut I know threw the woods, Lee went the normal way agreeing to meet up outside Gaynors in Ambleside.
As we started driving there was a fair amount of water about but nothing impassable to a normal car, we went down the hill to the Windermere car ferry, there was a lot of water flowing down the road and lots of debris and rocks being pulled out of the banks onto the road at the bottom there was a small flood but nothing too deep, as we started down the track to my short cut we happened across a guy asking which way we had come still not sensing anything was up, I told him and he went off as I came round a corner the lake has risen across the road impassable!
We turned round and headed back the way we had come the little flood at the bottom of the hill had now in the space of a few mins rose two footI hopped out assessed the situation put the diff locks on and went for it as it was rising fast and it was the only way back as the ferry wasn't running. It was deep about halfway up the doors, going up the hill it was just a river flowing down the dragging rocks with it.
I now realised this wasn't normal and we would use the normal route through Hawkshead, as we came to a dip in the road, there was a big flood in front of us with just the top of a yellow traffic cone sticking out so we figured it was still passable, low box and second for this one, pushed a bow wave through and out the other side small sigh of relief.
2 mins later we met Lee and party coming back the other way, he said it's impassable big floods but go and have a look I was astounded he had got through what we had just forded what I didn't realise it was rising a foot every 10 mins or so and was much shallower when they went through. We went down the road to discover it blocked by an abandoned Hi Lux pick up so turned round and headed back. The big flood it now looked deeper as the traffic cone was not showing, but how deep could it have got in 10 mins. So so I set off pushing a bow wave again deeper and deeper we went right up to the door handles
Just as we were about to set off Graeme appeared out of the same back road, for two hours they had tried different routes to reach the main road but the floods stopped them we were officially cut off. So we formed a convoy and headed back to the house, I pushed the big floods out off the way whilst the others followed closely behind.
Once back at Hammehole we decided to try and get some supplies in Myself , Lee and Paul equipped with BA's and throw lines, head torches and full wet gear headed of in my jeep we made it out to Newby Bridge two flood's were of real concern as was the bridge over the Leven at the Swan, so we stocked up at the garage up the road and headed back once back at the big flood we had come through by The Lake Side Hotel, it was obvious it had rose and was very deep cars and a tow truck were stopped each side. We had no choice but to try and ford it the little jeep plunged in up two the bonnet and just crawled its way through never missing a beat it juddered as I changed gear on the other side, water in the clutch but a bit of slipping soon dried it out.
We then went on a brief mission looking at other routes we found the Finswaite road had been washed away down a banking and floods that were rising too fast to risk going through to for fearing of not being able to get back to the house. We lead one driver back to safety and decided to get back as we got with in sight of the house the lake had risen a lot in the hour we had been out, breaching the road it wasn't that deep yet around 3 ft but would soon be impassable leaving us confined to our own little island.
The waves are off the lake.
The following pictures captured what happened over the next 10 hours or so, we were quite confident as one of the estate workers bought us some sand bags and said it has never flooded in its 200 year history.
Later on in the evening we moved everything upstairs and as it got serious called the police just to let them know where we were and we weren't in mortal danger, but we did have an 11 month old baby with us young Holy Kite, they said to sit tight as the only way out now was by helicopter.
In this one before it got too deep downstairs you can see the waves hitting the glass outside.
At first light Myself and Lee went out on foot then in the jeep to try and find and escape route out through the back roads and over the tops.
I had a route in my head but not sure if it would be passable to normal cars. We told every one to be packed and ready to go on our return in one to two hours the only way in and out of the house was now though a second floor back bedroom window onto a grass bank.
Myself and Lee worked our way round the route had to make a few detours due to impassable floods or roads washed away. Eventually we got to Greenodd and the main road the A590.
We had been listening to the local radio and knew high tide was lunchtime and one bridge we had to cross "penny bridge" was on the tidal section of the Crake and was already looking a bit serious non of it 3 arches were showing due to the Crake which had burst its banks, so I knew as the tide came in this would be topped and become impassable.
We drove like mad men back to the house, told everyone we had a route out and formed up in convoy behind the jeep so I could push the floods out of the way.
We said good bye to Hammer Hole the owner came down just as were about to leave and thanked us for saving his furniture and doing what we could, wished us good luck.
We got out and the guys got home.
Despite everything it was a great week and its a birthday Lee will never forget.
My deepest sympathy go out to all the flood victims, we just had a small taste of what you must be going through.
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May the gentleness of morning, greet your silent passage through endless waters...
