Wind and water

I came up to Briar Rose this afternoon, as I have a boat test to do tomorrow, further north.  It was beautifully sunny at home, but was very much more cloudy and dark as I drove north.  It was also very blustery.

I stopped at Tesco in Buckingham on the way to get some shopping for the next few days.  As I drove towards Cosgrove, I could see that the river down in the valley (which I guess might be the Ouse, which a few miles further on is crossed by the Iron Trunk Aqueduct) was well in flood.  Then, as I drove down the hill towards the marina, I could see that the River Tove (which crosses the Grand Union at Stoke Bruerne Bottom Lock, and then flows alongside the canal) had also flooded quite a lot of the valley.

When I got to the marina, the water level was exceptionally high.  Normally, the back counter is at about the same level as the jetty; today, there's a step up onto the boat of at least six inches.  Later, an email came through saying the the locks at Stoke Bruerne and Cosgrove as closed because there's too much water.  And there are local news reports of boats being washed into fields near Stoke Bruerne -- although I'm struggling to imagine how that could possibly have happened.

Once on board, I put the Webasto on for an hour to provide some hot water (and even turned a few radiators on to take the chill off), then I lit the fire.  I put the shower mixer back on, turned the water on, as well as the gas.  I didn't even attempt to put the satellite dish up; it would only have been blown over by the exceptionally strong wind.  I was glad I didn't have to go anywhere -- these windy conditions do not make for pleasant boating.

It hasn't started raining yet, but the forecast suggests it's heading this way.  It's due to go through overnight, after which the wind should drop and the sun should come out.  If the weather does what it's supposed to, tomorrow's test should go well.