A once-a-year "special" of a ride for me today. A decent-sized Severn Bore was predicted to arrive during daylight hours, in nice weather, and on one of my days off. These four factors seldom coincide, so it was definitely the right time for this year's Severn Bore Chase. A couple of years ago, I managed to photo it in three different locations .... Framilode, Epney and Stonebench, so I knew where I would need to sprint, and where I could take it a bit easier. Armed with a bit of tide table information and a set of internally stored pace notes compiled from another year of cycling, I also had an idea I would be able to make another final long sprint to the old bridge at Over to catch it a fourth time this year, so that was my aim. Set off before sunrise, wearing my high-viz and with all lights blaring. I was curious to find out what effect the "super moon" would have on the tide today, and was pleasantly surprised, when I reached the waterfront at Epney, to see that the moon was still visible in the morning sky (though not particularly "super"). Over my shoulder, the sun was just rising over the Cotswold Hills, and its first rays can be seen reflecting back from the windows of houses in the hilltop village of Littledean in the Forest of Dean, opposite:
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I carried on down the lane another half a mile or so to Framilode, where I joined a little group of bore watchers standing on the flood wall by the church and watched a small flotilla of surfers heading out to meet the wave. The bore arrived about five minutes late, giving the sun just enough time to light up the reeds on the opposite river bank with a golden glow:
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Not that big a wave, it turns out, but predicting the wave size is never an exact science, depending as it does on so many different factors, such as river levels, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure etc. But it is always an event. Sprinted half a mile to Epney and screeched to a halt just in time to get my camera out again. Not my best bore picture, but a rarity for having the moon in shot:
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There was another little crowd of bore watchers on the front at Epney as usual. This is known as one of the best spots for watching the Severn Bore, as you get a good clear line of sight in both directions, and plenty of space for car parking:
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I had plenty off time to roll along to Stonebench over five miles away for my next sighting, though this is not a particularly good viewing spot. The lane runs along the riverbank, but there is only one small break in the tree line, and you only ever get a very fleeting view. You can opt for the field just down the road, but that is usually really muddy and requires wellies to be worn. In any event, this was a really damp squib, as there was no "wave" as such at this point in the river, just a large swell and a bit of a splash (though not the drenching that it gave Berney and
@Dark46 last year!):
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Lots of support vehicles for the various surfers were speeding past by this time, and I had to let several 4x4s and vans go past before I made my quick getaway. Sprinted past my own house and out onto the cyclepath to Hempsted and onwards alongside the Gloucester Western By-Pass. Got to a great viewpoint on the road bridge at Over in about 17 minutes, leaving me 3 minutes to get my camera ready:
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And here it came, now re-formed as a complete wave stretching right across the river. Still a little bit late, but exactly 20 minutes after it passed through Stonebench ... just as predicted over a year ago in the official tide table:
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My favourite bit of bore-watching is always just after the wave, when the river churns up wildly and the river races at 20mph in the wrong direction, carrying trees and other flotsam with it:
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So that's it for another year. Now I know I can catch it four times between Framilode and Over, my target for next year is to follow virtually the whole course of the bore, from Arlingham to Maisemore. It is only about a 20 minute ride from Arlingham to Framilode to tag on at the beginning, and by all accounts the wave took 20 minutes to cover that stretch of the river today, and normally does the same. And I now know I can beat the bore from Stonebench to Over, so next time I'll sprint past and get myself to the next bridge along, to finish the chase at Maisemore. This bore chasing is getting quite addictive now. If anyone ever fancies having a go, I'm happy to pass on some tips, as I guess I've probably now done it as often as any cyclist anywhere. There are no massive Severn bores due next year, but I reckon I'll have a go at the first three star one of next Spring.
Four viewings of the Severn Bore before breakfast! Over and out. Cheers,
Donger.
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