Tidal Waves and Me

In some of my previous posts, I have made reference to the Tidal Waves and the River.  Let me explain.  The house where we live is nestled into the banks of the River Great Ouse in Norfolk.  The River is tidal and we live about 7 miles from King’s Lynn and 10 from The Wash.  That’s the square shaped estuary on the East Coast that separates Lincolnshire and Norfolk.  There are several rivers that run into The Wash.  The Nene, The Welland, the Haven and the Great Ouse.

The Great Ouse is the UK’s 4^th longest river and over the years has been modified, diverted and extended to allow for the massive Fen drainage projects that allow people to live in an area which would normally be under water.  20 Miles south of us is Ely which used to sit on a small hill surrounded by wet boggy marshes.  Now this is prime agricultural farming land all thanks to the drainage into the Great Ouse and out into the Wash.

The Fens are flat.  They were formed by the giant ice flows from the retreating ice sheets in the last ice age.  Rivers and basins were carved out of the land by the ice and in the last 50 miles of the Great Ouse the river only drops about 20ft!  If the Great Ouse burst its banks in Norfolk, towns as far as Huntingdon could end up under water.  The area is vast and has very big skies.  You can see for miles and the heat in August can be searing as there is no shade from hills or trees.  Nothing but water and fields. 

The House is an old fisherman’s cottage and the original building was no more than two rooms with a thatched loft to sleep in.  It actually forms part of the flood defences and we are lucky to have about 40 meters of river bank as our garden!  Although there is a public right of way along the river bank, it is only populated by dog walkers and the occasional hiking party who are walking the Fen Rivers Way. 

We can come out of the front door and within 15 seconds be sitting on the River Bank and see nothing but water.  A vast expanse of fairly fast moving water.

Like I said, it is an old fisherman’s cottage.  For centuries, the people that have lived here have been fishermen and there is a slip way in the garden.  The fishermen would have fishing boats moored on the bank and bring their catch in via the slipway to the sheds at the bottom of the garden which is where The Solar Shed now is.  The fish and other sea food would be brought to them by the tide.  They would moor a boat in the river and at low tide wade out to the anchored boat.  As the tide changes the water would approach and they would drop their nets and allow Mother Nature to do the work for them.  The fish would be caught, processed and boxed and then walked by cart to Magdalen Road station for the early train to Billingsgate Fish Market in London as well as some for local sale.

The approaching tide is called an Eagre, and Aigre or an Aegre depending on what part of the Country you live.  Here, in the Fens we call it an Eagre. 

An Eagre is the leading edge of the incoming tide and if you catch it right, you can witness one of the Planets finest shows.  Monster Tidal Waves form as the river narrows and meet resistance from the steep banks that keep it in its place.  200 meters wide,  1.5 meters high and rolling in at 8 knotts.  That is a lot of water. 

The tide changes twice a day, every day without fail.  It’s a moon thing.  Some days you can see nothing more than the water stop, pause and then change direction.  Other days you can hear the tide coming in before you can see it and you can it see it approaching almost a mile before it gets here!  I never fail to wonder at its marvel.

My Neighbour, Peter, an elderly gentlemen lived in my house back in the 1940’s and his family stayed here till 1994 so I am fortunate to have someone who has grown up and lived on the River right next door.  We share tales of the size of the wave and every time we meet, the story, like the wave gets bigger and bigger.  It’s a Fen thing!

Peter, has also taught me how to predict the wave height, time and force.  I can now predict waves several months in advance and I advertise them to bring people into the Village so they too can witness this little marvel.  Up until now I have never told anyone the formula as the last thing I want is hundreds of people at the back of my house making noise and dropping litter.  I do ‘manage’ wave watching events and slowly drip feed the times by way of Facebook, twitter, local emails to interested parties and also to the pres the day before they are due.  That way, I can control within reason, how many people come as the last thing we need is hoards of people tramping all over the place and the dangers of serious accidents.

The Waves and tidal patterns run in cycles and last year, 2012, we only had 4 short cycles of spring tides and none were particularly high.  Most fell on a new moon as well so the chance of a decent wave was minimal.  This year however, the Moon is aligned in a way that we will see ten cycles of High Spring Tides, some not seen for 16 yrs or more.  Every month this year will bring decent tides and in turn decent sized tidal waves.  The general rule of thumb, without giving the game away too much as follows.

The tide will change in the Village, one hour before High Tide in King’s Lynn.  If the tide height is 18 ft or more, a Tidal Wave will form.  Now that might seem too simple, and it is.  A tidal wave can be just a few inches high, but being exact in definition, it is a Tidal Wave.  If the tide height is over 21ft and the High Spring Tide is 2 days after a Full Moon, at 5:25 am or pm, to be precise, you can guarantee an absolute monster of a Tidal Wave.

 So based upon that formula, i have listed below the dates for Spring and Early summer ‘Best Chance’ of seeing a tidal wave on the River Great Ouse in Norfolk.  These times are for your best chance to see a wave from the Bridge by the Cock Public House on the River in Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen PE34.

My advice is to get there 30 minutes before advertised time as I have been known to mis-judge these times.  Better to be early than late.

APRIL 2013

25^th     5:15 pm   FULL MOON

26^th     6:05 pm   HIGH SPRING TIDE

27th    6:55 pm   HIGH SPRING TIDE

28th    7:45 pm   HIGH SPRING TIDE

JUNE  2013

23rd  5.50pm  FULL MOON

24^th    5.25pm  HIGH SPRING TIDE

25^th    7:05pm  HIGH SPRING TIDE

26th  8:10pm HIGH SPRING TIDE

As I have said, these times depends on many factors and weather conditions so everything is subject to change.  Once the first wave in a series is sighted, I can predict with great accuracy what the times for the next few days will be so follow me on Twitter @TheSolarShed and I will give more accurate times as and when the first one is sighted.