The Bore

No, this isn’t a story about a dull person, but about a phenomenon called the Severn Bore. During my life, I’ve lived along the Severn River several times, on two continents and in three countries. When I lived in Annapolis, Maryland, it was along the banks of the Severn River. And when we stayed in Tewkesbury, England during a summer, our house was along the upper reaches of the Severn River. When I lived in Wales, Cardiff was on the Severn River, which had broadened to more than five miles wide. By St. Donat’s Castle, the river has turned into the Bristol Channel.The tides on the Bristol Channel are huge – the second highest in the world – up to 50 feet between high and low tide. Twice a year, during the spring and autumn equinoxes, the tides come in as a wave with such force that people surf, canoe and kayak them. The waves are up to nine feet high and move at a rate of 25 km/h. People come from all over the world to see this amazing sight.

This is the week that the bore arrives. The waves usually come in the morning and evening and it takes a bit more than two hours for the bore to travel up the river. 

"When the boar comes, the stream does not swell by degrees, as at other times, but rolls in with a head...foaming and roaring as though it were enraged by the opposition which it encounters" - Thomas Harrel 1824

This guy would totally be a friend of mine!