Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
we held it about 4cm from the piece of meat that we were inspecting. This had to be done
at lightning speed to stop the skin on our arms blistering. In reality, we didn't really need
to check if the meat was cooked. The barbeque was so ridiculously hot that the meat was
charcoaled within seconds.
We piled the blackened food onto huge plates in batches as we cooked it, and they were
taken to a table where people began queuing to fill their plates.
'You're doing a great job,' said one lady as she passed us with a full plate of carbon.
'It tastes like a proper barbeque,' which was a polite way of saying that it was completely
burnt.
After everyone had helped themselves, Rob came over and took the tongs from us.
'Greatjob,guys.YougoandfillyourplatesandI'llkeepaneyeonthelastfewbits,'he
said.
'IT'S COMING!' shouted one of the group members, soon after 10pm.
Everyone rushed towards the river that was now eerily lit by the moon. The river was
completely still and the prospect of a 'wall of water' as we had been promised seemed in-
comprehensible. We were several miles inland and it seemed impossible that a wave could
make it up that far, and I did start to wonder if it was all an elaborate joke. Rob had also
said that we would hear it long before we would see it. But, apart from the building excite-
ment and chatter of the old people, I could hear nothing. Even a ripple would have made
this lot gasp. My expectations were set very low.
Just then I heard something.
It's hard to describe the sound it made. Imagine the sound that a big wave makes when
it breaks near the shore, but instead of this being followed by the lull as the water recedes,
the noise just continues. Like one big, continuous wave. This, as you've probably gathered
by now, is exactly what the Severn Bore is.
The river was fairly narrow at the point where we were standing, and we were only a
few metres away from the water's edge. When the bore finally came into sight it exceeded
all of my expectations. I couldn't help but gasp in amazement like the rest of the group. It
was, literally, a wall of water almost two metres high travelling up the river. It was slower
than I expected but far, far more impressive. For some reason, I had naively imagined that
the wave would be on its own and once it had passed the river would be back to normal.
What I neglected to realise was that this wave was being pushed by a continuous flood of
water behind it. It carried with it huge tree trunks and branches that it had salvaged from
the river bank on its journey. No surfers had managed to ride the wave this far, and to be
honest I was slightly relieved. On this occasion it seemed that nature had won.
As the bore passed us, the water rushed up the river bank and flooded the field around
us. I've never seen old people move so fast, as they all jumped for higher ground. Ben and
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