December 2025
December was an odd month. I can’t recall it being this mild in the month before Christmas. In fact, bees were still foraging on the last flowers of my Mahonia - right up till New Years Eve! I really hope they’ve managed to find enough food to see them through to spring?
Despite the mild weather, December brought rain, sufficient to see The Weir Garden close on Sunday the 7th December. It’s always an inconvenience when we have to close for the public, but I assure you, it is with good reason! The river Wye can be very unforgiving.
When it truly rains and the river swells, the deluge of water flowing can transform the Wye into an untamed beast.
It looks fairly innocent…
…Until you compare the height of the great wall, built to protect the river bank! The image below is a typical river level in dry weather.
The picnic area during flooding.
Here’s a close-up of the picnic area.
Trust me, you wouldn’t want to put your foot in the wrong place here - you’d be stepping into the abyss!
I walked the river path on the 7th to report on whether conditions were safe to open. Leaving the picnic area and traversing the path along the great wall, beneath the weeping willows, I had an overwhelming sense of foreboding. The river was just centimetres away from me. With only a narrow stretch of concrete separating me from the angry current I felt vulnerable. The water was picking up great speed here and even though I was sure the wall had been over-engineered to withstand the tremendous pressure exerted by repeated flooding, I couldn’t help my feeling of un-ease. Needless to say, I didn’t hang around!
Thankfully these events are usually short lived at The Weir Garden, and the damage is superficial; plants and trees recover quickly and generally with no lasting damage.
My heart goes out to those who have been unfortunate enough to have been in the path of floodwater. The devastation it can wreak on homes, businesses and peoples lives, is un-imaginable.
So, when I drive into work and have to close the Weir Garden due to a severe weather event, I view my wasted journey as a minor inconvenience and remind myself I’m fortunate not to be in the river’s path.