HIgh tide by Ham Street

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It was all down to luck, I stopped checking the tide tables some years ago, that I arrived at the end of Ham Street as the water ws lapping up againgst the towpath. I suspect that it had been a little higher just before that and the path may even have been impassible, as it always is with a high tide.

The view looks natural enough but anyone familiar with the area, which is almost everyone in Ham, will realise that the high river has claimed a lot of land and a large concrete structure.

 

Looking the other way, downstream, The trees look dramatically out of place surrounded by water.

 

And to show just how far the water had come in, the emergency throwbag was out of range and so of little use.

High water

There was a time, admittedly about twenty years ago, when I used to seek out high tides 

 and so kept a close eye on the tide tables. These days high tides like this are a surprise to me, as they are to most people trying to move around the area.

This is the footbridge that connected Douglas Footpath with the the tow path and it is sitting just above the water level.
 

As I have said before, the problem with the bridge is that it gets you over one flood only to confront another.

This is the path towards Ham House and while the water level is falling, you can see it streaming across the path, it was still to high for me in my normal street shoes.

  

The other way, towards Richmond was even worse.

I know when I am beaten so I headed back the way that came and took another direction.

Flooding in Ham Farm Road

The recent spells of heavy rain have caused flooding in Ham Farm Road. The rain had stopped when I took this photo but the piddle was still very large and the wetness of the pavement shows how bad it had been,

The likely problem is this drain outside of number 7 which is not draining anything. I have reported it to Richmond Council, and I presume that other people have too, so I hope that it will be fixed soon.

Under water

It has rained a great deal in the last couple of months so it was no surprise to find Petersham Lodge Woods flooded.

This stretch of water is hiding the path through the woods and forced me to take another route.