Penrith Road last Thursday

This next report in bold text was on a local website promoting Cumbria Tourism today and I include this verbatim as it appeared.

KESWICK IS OPEN!!







Despite heavy flooding in Cumbria, Keswick is open for business.


Keswick’s town Mayor, Andrew Lysser, commented that Keswick would welcome all visitors; that the fells are still here to be walked and that shops and attractions are ready with a welcome.


Flooding in Keswick has subsided and currently our main restriction is the vicinity of our two closed bridges, Greta Bridge and Station Road bridge. Vehicular access to Keswick is from Penrith Road off the A66, and from the A591. The road to Borrowdale is now open, and the A591 to Bassenthwaite is open, but Ouse Bridge is closed.






Well yes the fells are and always have been ready to be walked because they are open and no signs say don't go up them, but the sensible thing to do is to let them dry out before venturing on them again. Heck, whats a few days? I'll tell you, the difference between a ruined footpath and a good one and some of those rocks up there will have become unstable from the force of the water so they need watching too. Best let it dry out or at least wait until the streams return to more normal levels and then get back on those hills with care. I see the Borrowdale Road is open now so don't forget my words of wisdom take it easy at first and that means sticking to the lower fells and watch how you go, if it looks unsafe come back and report it at the Moot Hall. Check your map carefully for stream crossings, they could be raging torrents and you might have to turn back, there is no shame in that. Be aware of the dangers and take extra clothing, a whistle, food, hot drinks and torches with spare batteries and these precautions are nothing if you don't take your map and compass and know how to use them. Don't go alone, two is safer and a small group is safer still. If you have a shelter take that too, Keswick Rambles leaders always carry one even on sunny days. If you take your mobile phone be aware that reception is not available throughout the fells, some places like valleys, especially parts of Borrowdale give NO signal. Check the weather forecast very carefully and be prepared to come down if the weather deteriorates significantly; don't blunder on regardless. If in doubt, don't venture out!

Can you all please cross your fingers for tomorrow

The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings again and they say the floods might return. Let us all hope that they do not. It cannot be as bad as last time because they are predicting less rainfall but any prolonged heavy rain is going to hamper the clearing up operations in Cockermouth and elsewhere. 

The information you receive on the news is not all accurate either because they leave out some of the detail of the destruction and problems on the roads.  For instance on one official government site it does not say that the bridges in Keswick are all still closed, but they are. I went to check today and they are covered in white tape with blue lettering saying Police; so clearly they are not to be crossed. Would you believe it if I said an elderly lady pushed her way through the temporary fencing across the footpath of the bridge and crossed.

I don't suppose she will be the only one but it does go to show that people will always take risks and also risk the lives of others if it all goes pear shaped. Selfish behaviour luckily does not seem to have been on locals' minds in Cockermouth where the whole community has been pulled together by this disaster. I saw a Keswick couple on the internet news in a reception centre in Cockermouth who used to have a local guest house but sold up to retire to a larger bungalow in Cockermouth. Well it was down by the river.......They were keeping cheerful too except he was worried about his MG cars.

A friend who has a guest house said to me today that one foreign guest asked to have an early morning call, when she asked why he said he was going up Scafell Pike with someone from Cockermouth. She said the road is closed up Borrowdale and he did not believe her at first. Well he was finally pursued when she rang his Cockermouth acquaintance and he confirmed his house was flooded and he was going nowhere.

These are just some of the crazy things which are happening. Another couple from the guest house, who were experienced walkers were going to go up Skiddaw. This is despite knowing that no rescue services are available as far as I am aware, but maybe I am wrong. Does anyone know if the Mountain Rescue are back at base and ready to go up the mountains in all these gales and torrential rain to rescue people again? I just checked their website and it only says that their last rescue was 7th November. I would have thought it was more like 19th, 20th and 21st.

The good news is that the main supermarket in Keswick is open again, albeit with no frozen food or anything much in the chiller cabinets as it was all thrown out. Also I hear that the buses are starting to run again on a restricted service but I don't know which ones yet. All the dogs which were left upstairs on their own in Cockermouth whilst their owners were rescued were rounded up and saved by the RSPCA too, so well done all those who helped our canine friends. Bella is suitably impressed.

Latest news on floods

This is a photograph of a holiday let in Keswick, I think the message it gives is quite clear, please don't come at the moment. The Mountain Rescue teams are all involved in the rescue of people from the flooding and cannot look after the mountains at this time so it is imperetive that people keep off the fells.  The local emergency services are doing a wonderful job but it is simply not fair to put extra pressure on them when they are stretched to the limit.

Add to that the fact that all bridges have been closed as far as I am aware because they need checking to see if they are safe and you begin to see the scale of this disaster.  Yes the waters have receded but no it is not back to normal nothing like.  Helicopters are still coming over the house so a good deal is going on behind the scenes and even Gordon Brown the Prime Minister is here! The main supermarket is closed and it was difficult to find potatoes today.  The shops cannot get all of their staff in to town due to so many roads and bridges being affected and damaged. Local people have spent two nights in emergency centres and presumably they will need to be found accommodation soon because they cannot keep staying in them much longer.

The damage is so great to some of our road infrastructure that I think it will take several weeks for the bridges to all be usable again, and what will happen in the meantime is anyone's guess. I was appalled to hear that cars had been turning up at Cockermouth just to see the damage....This is stupid, we do not need this kind of behaviour, the best thing is to help in a positive manner and if that means staying away then that is the best option. Clearly at this dreadful time it is our duty to act responsibly. Sight seeing is unacceptable.