Not all those who wander are lost
Date published 6 December, 2019
Change of plan - Nottinghamshire to Yorkshire
Sometimes, when you are out and about, your plans get changed. And one of the reasons is weather.
You see that nice field? The fields near where we had planned to go were not like that. They were filling up with water.
We had lined up a visit to Haxey Quays, right near the River Idle, in Nottinghamshire. Not so far away, Fishlake was on the news with some very serious flooding, and for our journey down we were getting some very substantial rain. But the flood warnings were not in place for Haxey, somewhat to the East of Fishlake.
When we arrived, just after midday, a sad scene met our eyes.
The River Idle, in defiance of forecasts, was just starting to spill. The camp site owner greeted us with apologies. As we could see, parking up there was not going to be possible. He, and all the hands on deck he could find, were busy trying to tow caravans up to a slightly higher field.
The chap greeted us, as I said, with apologies. But he had no need to apologize. This was not his fault. And our inconvenience was modest. He was watching his business sinking into the floods. Neither he, nor we, had any idea when, if ever, he would be able to reopen, or how much damage was about to take place.
As we turned around to head off I felt slightly guilty. There was nothing I could do to help, and not being there was probably the most helpful thing. But I still felt a bit guilty leaving him there with all this mayhem.
I remember his face well. The look in his eyes. He was not old, but was not in the first flush of youth, either. It was a look of resigned surrender. His work, his beautiful campsite, his business, his livelihood were all disappearing into the rising waters. I hope it all got sorted. But right there his look lacked hope.
You do meet a lot of people when you are travelling. You share little parcels of their lives, and they yours. And we, so briefly shared how it feels when you get engulfed in a flood.
Empathy is an important thing, you know. You simply do not want to be the kind of person that can watch pain and not feel a little of it with the sufferer. This scene reminded me of that, graphically. When we read about disasters on the news I hope we all still have that important reaction - that of caring. Seeing this one for myself reinforced how vital that is.
We turned the van around and drove north, and stayed in Yorkshire, near Beverley. It was wet there - very wet, and for one complete day we sat in the van watching the downpours. But we were not flooded. We had no reason to complain.
We are happy snappers!
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