As anyone should be aware, on Boxing Day 2015, rain in the wake of Atlantic storm Eva brought flooding to many parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire, causing record peak flow on many rivers and causing at least six major rivers to burst their banks to bring devastation and misery in their wakes. I managed to personally avoid the worst of the weather, having been celebrating Christmas with My Parents in Leicester but on return to the North Country it made sense to put on my boots and do something useful, though personal involvement in the clean up operations was probably beyond my scope. Travelling to aid my friends in Mytholmroyd was out of the question with the town centre still underwater, and heading out to Kirkstall was improbable due to the flooding of the A65, and so I had to limit myself to where was straightforwardly accessible, and that would be the banks of the Aire through the city of Leeds. Even two days after the rain had passed the river was still elevated and full of fury, providing a handy reminder that when nature chooses, all of the will and engineering of humanity can do little to contain it, and the implacable natural forces unleashed will do their thing with little regard for what has been put in their way.
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| Upstream from Whitehall Road bridge, the Aire may have dropped from its peak but it still rides well above its usual level and roars with a fury that you wouldn't normally hear. |
