Sculptures by the Wye

The Ross Docks

Ross-on-Wye

Flooding Around Ross in 2010

5^th January 2010

On the 5^th January 2010 the heaviest snow fall (about 6" [150mm]) since 1982 occurred and this was part of the coldest weather for 30 years. After the snow fell this was the view from the Prospect out over the loop in the river.

17^th January 2010

As a result of the subsequent thaw, and rain that fell during this, the snow melted very quickly and the River flooded. The Rudhall Brook was also very high.

The Rudhall Brook (Click for a larger image)

Flooding Around Ross in 2009

21^st December 2009

Over the last few days it has snowed, started to melt and re-frozen making the roads hazardous but it makes it feel more like Christmas.

The River Wye in the snow (Click for a larger image)

21^st November 2009

As can be seen in this photo, although it was still raining hard, the river was still high but had gone back within its banks.

The River Wye with the water receding (Click for a larger image)

15^th November 2009

A significant amount of heavy cloud and rain has moved in from the southwest, across Wales and on towards the northeast. The water has come down from the mountains the river has burst its banks at Ross and partially covered the loop meadow.

The River Wye in Flood (Click for a larger image)

Flooding Around Ross in 2008

9^th November 2008

The river is high again after heavy rainfall in the mountains. The depth gauge on Wilton Bridge is currently at 5 feet. The rapid rise and fall of the river seems to be more common at the moment due to the ground upstream being water logged. This may also be related to the very wet and cool summer that has just passed.

The River Wye (Click for a larger image)

6^th October 2008

After a period of heavy rainfall in the mountains in Wales, the River Wye has flooded covering Oak Meadow although it is rapidly receding back into its banks.

10^th September 2008

Overnight the river has risen another 2 feet to 14 feet (4.3 meters). This means that it has covered a much larger area as can be seen in the photo of the Rope Walk below. The Oak Meadow in the loop of the Wye is now also completely covered.

The river has receded (Click for a larger image)

The river has now gone back into its banks although, due to the ground being waterlogged, there are some large pools of water still in the surrounding area.

7^th September 2008

Overnight the river has risen another 2 feet to 14 feet (4.3 meters). This means that it has covered a much larger area as can be seen in the photo of the Rope Walk below. The Oak Meadow in the loop of the Wye is now also completely covered.

The Rope Walk is now under water (Click for a larger image)

The Band Stand is now an island in a lake. Wye Street is submerged and closed and only 4x4 vehicles are able to pass through it.

On a rather more unpleasant note, one teenager was actually seen swimming in this water around the bandstand.

The Band Stand (Click for a larger image)

In the view back towards the Riverside Inn, the seats beside the river are now completely submerged.

The river bank (Click for a larger image)

Wilton Bridge with the flood (Click for a larger image)

The water can be seen as being higher on Wilton Bridge and the view upstream from the bridge has changed dramatically. The water is fast flowing and a number of large round bales of straw have been seen being washed past.

The view upstream from Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

6^th September 2008

After over a week of heavy rain showers and persistent drizzle interspersed with overcast conditions, the rain that has fallen in the mountains has reached Ross. There are indications that the water may have been slightly higher but it does not appear to have been particularly severe.

The Rope Walk field with minor flooding (Click for a larger image)

Although this has been the wettest August on record (since 1922), according to the BBC weather centre, with an average of 120mm of rainfall across the country since the start of the month (which is more around two-thirds more than the normal) there has not been any notable flooding seen at Ross.

The river Wye in flood (Click for a larger image)

This shot is taken from Wilton Road looking back towards the Riverside Inn. The water has covered the bank but not to any huge depth.

A swan in the flood

The view upstream from Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

At Wilton Bridge the floods can be clearly seen. The depth gauge on the bridge indicates that the depth is around 12 feet (3.7 meters) at that point.

Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

Flooding Around Ross in 2007

8^th December 2007

After over a week of heavy rain overnight and in the morning (but often clearing in the afternoon), the river burst its banks Thursday or Friday. In the rest of Herefordshire numerous roads were closed due to flooding.

The floods from the Prospect (Click for a larger image)

27^th July 2007

The river has now dropped by another 1m and is 2.6m (8.5 feet) deep according to the marker on Wilton Bridge.

Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

The river as seen north of Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

The floods as seen south of Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

23^rd July 2007

The water flowing under Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

The floods have greatly receded over the last 24 hours. The level has dropped to about 3.5m deep (11.5 feet), a fall of about 1m and is still falling.

The floods as seen from Bridstow Bridge (Click for a larger image)

The floods as seen south of Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

The floods as seen north of Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

22^nd July 2007

On the "wettest day in history" (Friday 20^th July) the the River Wye did not burst its banks. The flood water arrived in the following days after (on Saturday and Sunday) and, when the rain finally stopped, these are some photos I took in the area. The river had risen to 4.3m (14 feet) deep.

The water by the Homs Road carpark (Click for a much larger image)

The water on Wye Street (Click for a larger image)

Ross over the floods (Click for a larger image)

The water at Wilton flowing under Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

The water north of Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

The water south of Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

The floods as seen from Bridstow Bridge (Click for a larger image)

20^th July 2007

On the "wettest day in history" (Friday 20^th July), when the M50 was blocked by the River Leadon bursting its banks at Junction 2 and the M5 was closed by the sheer quantity of water at the Tewkesbury, the the River Wye did not burst its banks.

Below are a couple of pictures taken on the M50 after and during the police turning the traffic around on the west bound carriageway. All the cars were then directed back on the M5, which was also (unfortunately) closed soon after joining it.

A vehicle turning on the M50 (Click for a much larger image)

The cars being led off the M50 (Click for a larger image)

The cars on the M50 (Click for a larger image)

13^th January 2007

The flood from the Riverside (Click for a larger image)

The floods looking back from Wilton (Click for a larger image)

These are a few more pictures from the 11th looking back at Ross from Wilton and several views from Wye Street. Today the river has gone back within it's banks leaving large pools on the banks. The Riverside shot shows that the level had receeded slightly but the water was close to its highest level. The water was 12 feet deep, according the gauge on Wilton Bridge. The highest level recorded on Wilton Bridge was in 1831 when it was 17 feet deep but there are marks beside the bridge dating back to 1791 when the water must have covered or been at the same level as Wilton Road.

The flood from Wye Street (Click for a larger image)

On the 22^nd December 2006, DEFRA announced that the Ross flood alleviation scheme would finally get funding along with several other projects across the country. This is stated as:

... [Read more]

The Rope Walk Meadow (Click for a larger image)

The bridge between the Rope Walk and Homs Road car park (Click for a larger image)

These seem to the a couple of areas mentioned in the improvements, plus the flooded football pitches, but because of the level of the river, they are all submerged. It will be interesting to see what changes are made in these area. The flooded football pitches between Homs Road and the Boat House (Click for a larger image)

11^th January 2007

The Wye in flood (Click for a larger image)

Today the flooding is about as bad as I have seen it for a long time. The Oak Meadow (in the middle of the loop) has almost completely vanished. The A40 is just a narrow causeway through the water. The buildings by the river are being threatened with flooding as is the boathouse which is on a small island. The forcast is for more rain so the flooding could yet get worse.

The A40 in the flood (Click for a larger image)

The high water line (Click for a larger image)

The boathouse in the flood (Click for a larger image)

Flooding Around Ross in 2006

6^th December 2006

The Wye in flood (Click for a larger image)

Today the river has really burst it's banks and has flooded most of the middle field.

The Wye as seen from the Prospect (Click for a larger image)

4^th December 2006

The Wye in flood (Click for a larger image)

After persistent rain interspersed with very heavy storms, plus several storm related power cuts, over the weekend, the river has finally burst it's banks and has flooded the middle field. This rise was literally overnight as when I drove over Wilton Bridge yesterday, there were several people beside the river fishing in positions which would definitely not be possible today.

27^th November 2006

High water in the Wye (Click for a larger image)

Today, the water is still very high but it's still within the river's banks.

26^th November 2006

High water in the Wye (Click for a larger image)

Today, 26th November 2006, the River Wye was very high, about 9' 6" (2.9 metres) according to the depth gauge on Wilton Bridge and I noticed it was high yesterday too. There was some localised flooding around the bridge and pools in the fields inside the horse shoe bend. It did not rain today or last night but it did do for a few days previously and is a good indication of the delay between the rainfall upstream and the water arriving at Ross.

High water under Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

High water around Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

High water as seen from Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

High water upstream of Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

High water below Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

23^rd August 2006

Today, the rain fell very heavily during a thunder storm and this resulted in Brookend Street flooding and having to be closed (which has happened several times recently this year).

Brookend Street in flood (Click for a larger image)

The lower end of Ross-on-Wye has always had a problem with flooding when heavy rains fall. Currently there are plans to improve the culverts in the area as part of the "Ross Flood Alleviation Scheme" as approved in 2004. [ More details ]

Brookend Street in flood (Click for a larger image)

Mings in flood (Click for a larger image)

29^th March 2006

The river has now, on 29^th March 2006, gone back within its banks and only a few pools remain where it burst out.

28^th March 2006

Today, 28^th March 2006, after a few days of rain the river is very high, about 6 feet (2 metres) higher than usual, although it has only burst its banks in a few places where the bank is particularly low.

The heron seemed to be enjoying the weather rather more than most people who were out and about this evening.

The Wye in flood looking towards Wilton Castle (Click for a larger image)

A heron in the flood (Click for a larger image)

Normally it is possible to walk under the first arch without getting wet, today a swim in the muddy water did not seem very inviting.

The flood under the first arch of Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

The north side of Wilton Bridge (Click for a larger image)

Its a good job that I did not need a sit down or fall in and need rescuing.

A flooded area (Click for a larger image)

The River Wye in Flood

7^th November 2005

These photos were taken from the Prospect on the 7^thNovember 2005 when the river flooded.

The shots below were taken in the direction of the Ross cricket pitch.

The Wye in flood looking towards the cricket pitch and beyond (Click for a larger image)

The Wye in flood over the cricket pitch (Click for a larger image)

The Wye in flood looking towards Wilton (Click for a larger image)

Here you can see the river in flood looking out towards Wilton. The river banks have a covering on both sides but the river is only just bursting it's banks.

The old tree in the field in the middle of the horse shoe bend is almost surrounded by the water.

The Wye in flood looking at the old tree (Click for a larger image)

The swans by the flood (Click for a larger image)

The swans and seagulls seem to be relatively unworried by the floods.

The river is quite high coming under the Bridstow bridge on the A40 but is only just over the bank.

The Wye in flood looking at the old tree (Click for a larger image)

The flood and the boat house (Click for a larger image)

The flood is pretty close to the boat house.

November 2005

Here we see the river Wye flooding right over the Rope Walk and the play area that is along side it. It was taken sometime in the Autumn of 2005 (most likely November).

The flood and the playground beside the river Wye [Photo: Andrew Hiley] (Click for a larger image)

1990

A postcard view of the Wye in flood [Published by Marcus Photos circa 1990] (Click for a larger image)

A postcard view of the river Wye in flood. The winter in 1989-1990 was very mild and heavy rain caused the river to flood. It reached it's highest on the 9th February 1990.

1968

In 1968 the river flooded quite spectacularly, as can be seen in this photo taken at that time. In the distance is what is now the Riverside Inn and Restaurant and this was probably taken off Wilton Bridge.

The Wye in flood in '68 (Click for a larger image)

1912

On the 28^th Aug 1912 the Wye Flooded and Mr. H. E. Wilkins, a well known photographer from Ross, recorded the event and published it as postcards. These are No. 1 and No. 5 from the series.

Wye in Flood Ross No.5 [Published by H.E. Wilkins] (Click for a larger image)

Wye in Flood Ross No.1 [Published by H.E. Wilkins] (Click for a larger image)

Oak Meadow in flood (1912) (Click for a larger image)

During the flood Mr. A. G. Beeston, who was another well known photographer in Ross, also took photos of the floods. This view shows the Doomsday Oak in Oak Meadow along with some flooded carts and with Wilton Bridge and the King's Head in the background.

Flooding And Driving Advice For Motorists

The recent changes in weather patterns have resulted in more heavy rain and localised flooding. Motorists are being urged to take care and exercise extra caution in these situations. This results in localised flooding which is affecting normal driving routes across the Herefordshire.

If driving through larger puddles or smaller areas of standing water drive slowly and steadily, allow oncoming traffic to pass and always test your brakes after leaving the water. If water has flooded across a section of road it may be difficult to tell exactly how deep it is. If you do come across a road that is flooded DO NOT attempt to drive through the flood water. Not only is this putting yourself in danger but as little as an egg cup of water entering your engine is enough to wreck it.

Visibility can also be seriously reduced in heavy rain so headlights MUST be used, together with allowing a bigger gap between you and the car in front to allow for the increased stopping distance. If you are unlucky enough to breakdown in any further heavy rain, advice from the AA is to try and get the car to a safe and visible place, call for roadside assistance and wait for help to arrive.

Vicki Bristow from the Safer Roads Partnership comments:

Based on: Flooding And Driving Advice For Motorists by Worcestershire and Herefordshire West Mercia Police, issued: Thursday, 28 June 2012

Sculptures by the Wye

The Ross Docks