Christmas Day Severn Bore 2011
The only Bore this December in the calendar, so it was set the alarm clock and hope for the best. Its arrival at Newnham at 7.0am seemed a bit optimistic but Epney seemed a do-able. When I did get up it was dark and when I got to Epney it was dark, hmm. The local surf crew were at the ready showing real commitment, after all it is winter, although you would be forgiven for thinking it was March, it was so mild, 12 Deg C, UK seeing record temperatures. A breeze came up the Severn with day trying to break through the dark leaden sky filled with rain as the guys got down to a sand bank and waited for the Bore’s arrival. This was a test for any camera equipment, I could hardly see them but thankfully the camera sensor did, well just about at 260mm and it would have been a bit easier if I had picked up the right camera and lens combo; for some reason I thought it was going to be light at 8.0am, I was an hour ahead in my mind so restricted to F5.6. Although listed as a 1 star Bore it did show some force & strong enough for the boys to surf. Then it was jump in the car and off to another viewing point nr Hempstead where the sky got greyerr. The sheep looked on as the swell pushed its way towards the weir. It could have still been surfed at this point seeing the wave pattern. The traffic lights were on green so getting to the next stop, Maisemore Bridge, was just possible. By now high water levels were really making an impact on the Bore, cancelling out any force and by the Bridge it was all but finished with just a gentle swell from side to side mixing up the silt as it came to meet the weir at a similar water level.
