No respite from the winter storms

It has been two solid months now. Two months of relentless pounding from a series of Atlantic storms, with only brief interludes of tranquillity,  which has left Cornwall and the rest of South-West England reeling.  

Although Cornwall has not suffered as badly as in the low lying county of Somerset, where there have been devastating floods, we have taken much of the brunt of the south-westerly gales and torrential rain. Last night's severe storm left a trail of destruction  across Cornwall as the county was battered by winds of more than 90mph. 

The peninsula today is almost an island, with many major roads closed due to flooding and fallen trees, and no trains coming into Cornwall due to substantial damage to the main railway line at Dawlish in south Devon, a spectacular part of Brunel's Victorian railway track, which will be very familiar to MEI Conference delegates who travel to Falmouth by train. 

The Great Western track, south Devon....

...and this morning (Twitter @Sarah_Ransome)

This morning I took a short walk down to Falmouth's Swanpool Beach, another area very familiar to conference delegates, being on the route of our annual coast path walks. The photos below show the mayhem caused by last night's storm, the scenes a far cry from the idyllic scene of only a few months ago.

 

The beach café at Swanpool



Swanpool Beach, summer of 2013

And ironically, my first posting on the blog was exactly 5 years ago today, showing Falmouth covered in a blanket of snow, also an extreme weather event in this unique area of England, warmed by the Gulf Stream.



Swanpool Beach, February 5th 2009