The Severn Bore
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An early morning saw us setting off to Minsterworth to see the Severn Bore - a natural phenomenon of which the Severn hosts some of the best in the world!
We have been quite surprised at the number of people who live in Gloucestershire who have not actually seen it - so time for a little geographical education.
An impressive array of spectators gathered along the river armed with cameras, videos, chairs and flasks and chatted happily while waiting, some
even joking that perhaps on this occasion it had been cancelled.
When the Bore finally arrived 20 minutes late, it appeared as a wall of water moving quite slowly along the river. The swans decided to evacuate to the bank as the river rose up the bank and remained at that level. It is easy to see how a big bore could cause extensive flood damage.
So we had seen it and headed for home.
However, a strange sight on the main road at Over prompted us to go Bore Chasing! You don't see many surfers running around miles from the sea - the Bore had obviously
not reached this far up river!
We stopped and managed to join the crowd of people gathered along Maisemore Bridge. We waited with eager anticipation and as the crowd started to cheer we saw about 8 surfers and a couple of canoeists riding the Bore. We all clapped and ran to the other side of the bridge as they went underneath. The children loved it - not a sight you see everyday on an English river.
So we saw the same Bore twice, and with two different interpretations - there was something for everyone.
We were told that watching the Severn Bore at night is a strange and eerie experience - an experience we will endeavour to explore soon no doubt!
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