I'm rather fond of pub signs so when approaching the Harbour Inn at Black Shore this was an irresistible photo, a rather romantic view of a fisherman in calm waters
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| 'Relentless' on the River Ore |
but then a slightly larger fishing boat we watched the following day on a nearby river may not have fitted the sign. Continuing my walk past the pub I came to its other sign
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| Harbour Inn, Black Shore, Southwold, Suffolk |
of stormier weather and the reason can be spotted half way down the wall which marks the flood level in 1953. The inn sits beside the north bank of the River Blyth, a tidal estuary of marshes and flood plains. The pub floods so the ground floor kitchen is on wheels, the fridges have the electric at the top and the plugs are near the ceiling. The landlord, Nick Attfield was reported as saying "I knew what I was taking on and its part of the charm here".
But the recent floods though inconvenient were nothing compared to the "perfect storm" of 1953 when a high spring tide met a deep depression and gale force northerly winds, creating a surge of water that deluged the east coast rising 10 feet above normal levels here and rushing half a mile inland. The town of Southwold which is surrounded by rivers became an island. It was the worst peace time disaster. Known as the
North Sea Flood over 300 people died on the east coast of Britain but the Netherlands counted their dead in thousands. In this area of Suffolk I read a quote that said it was a year before the earthworm was seen again. The land was not farmed for three years.
On the sunny day we past the fishing huts, some selling their catch, some just at rest and
people waiting in holiday mood by the calm waters for the Walberswick ferry (which is a rather grand title for a rowing boat) I would never have imagined a disaster on this scale in this quiet corner of England.
