82 
THE SEVERN BORE. 
April, 1892. 
lake previously referred to has sand banks and shallows, the 
tide being out ; and the margin is fringed with marsh plants, 
among which is to be found Althcea , the Marsh Mallow. 
We keep our eyes fixed on the downward portion of the 
river, and have not long to wait in suspense. Presently we 
hear, and soon after see, the bore —or rather two bores—the 
tidal wave having been cut through by the sand bank 
in the river. The tidal wave is about three feet high, 
and travels, perhaps, at the rate of five or six miles 
an hour.* One of the streams is coming from west¬ 
ward, the other from southward. Not longer than 
half an hour from the time of our first observations—and 
perhaps half that time from the first appearance of the bore— 
the two streams, turbid with Severn mud, rushing along 
with force and velocity, and carrying sea-weed, pieces of wood, 
and debris before them, have united, and to our amazement 
the whole inland lake is filled up, and where dry places 
hitherto appeared not a vestige of sand is now visible. 
At “Hock Crib ” the River Severn narrows and bends round 
outwards considerably for a distance of several miles. We 
avoid this curve and make straight across for Framilode, a 
little village higher up the river. By walking fast and taking 
short cuts, we are in advance of the bore, which travels 
round the curve. A hundred yards before we reach the river 
we are made aware, in the village street, of the presence of 
the bore of the previous evening. A slimy mud covers the 
roadway, and we notice that the door-sills of the cottages, 
and even the gateways to the gardens of the bettermost houses, 
have been plugged with clay to prevent the encroachment of 
the tidal wave. The river here is a quarter-of-a-mile wide, 
and has a straight course of nearly a mile, Framilode being 
in the upper third, and the view of the Forest Hills is very 
picturesque. We take up our position on a fixed landing 
stage a few yards out in the river. An interval of half-an- 
liour elapses, when we see the bore advancing rapidly, at the 
same pace as before but with less noise, and at a height of 
nearly three feet. It carries before it the usual debris and 
wreckage, but this has largely augmented, and we notice two 
or three great masses of timber, weighing probably several 
hundredweight, driven along the crest of the wave. A local 
boatman is of opinion, from previous experience and 
the prejudice of his race, that a wreck has taken 
place against the Severn Bridge. After the bore has 
* Opinions differ as to the height of the bore, which varies accord¬ 
ing to circumstances, six, and even nine, feet have been mentioned, 
with a good south-west wind. 
