Glimpse of a watery future

Lyth valley, Cumbria Because of rising costs, the Environment Agency has proposed turning off the pumps that have drained this land for decades

In November we paid the price for our warm, dry autumn: weeks of incessant rain. I drove up to Helsington church to look down on the flooded Lyth valley, with Morecambe Bay to the south, then the levels below awash and backed by the long, wooded slopes of Whitbarrow.

Intersected by field drains and the few causeway roads that bisect the valley, the farmland was almost wholly vanquished by water. What few sheep there were fed on higher ground - swans had taken up residence in their place.

Continue reading...