Rochdale Canal Overflows in Sowerby Bridge

The 2015 Boxing Day floods marked a turning point for Sowerby Bridge, a town accustomed to the gentle rhythm of its waterways. For the first time in generations, the Rochdale Canal, once a vital artery of the local economy, was overwhelmed. The canal's banks gave way, flooding the towpath and inundating the locks. This historic event, coupled with the devastating impact of the Rivers Ryburn and Calder, forever etched itself into the town's memory.

These Polaroid photographs, preserved in timeless black and white, serve as a poignant reminder of the 2015 Boxing Day floods. The monochromatic format lends a historical and almost melancholic quality to the images, underscoring the enduring impact of this natural disaster.

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Sowerby Bridge, Boxing Day Floods 2015

 The following pictures which I recently rediscovered were taken of high water levels around Sowerby Bridge during the Boxing Day 2015 flooding that devastated the Calder Valley. This was the worst flooding to hit Sowerby Bridge since the 1960's with millions of pounds in property damage along the route of devastation along the River Calder from Todmorden to Mirfield and beyond. Mytholmroyd and Hebden Bridge suffered a lot more than Sowerby Bridge with the floods but living in Sowerby Bridge it was easier to picture some of the water levels here.

These pictures were taken using a Polaroid is2132 bridge camera on the 26th December 2015. They can be seen below and on Clickasnap full size, resolution and un-watermarked. Copies can also be purchased their if required.

The flooded Calder & Hebble Navigation and Rochdale Canals from Chain Bridge.

The Calder & Hebble overflowing at Chain Bridge.

Rochdale Canal from Tower Hill Bridge. The towpath can normally be seen to the
right of the canal, the small wall probably prevented the car park and nearby town
centre from further damage.

Tuel Lane Lock gates flowing over.

The River Calder flowing past Kingfisher Chase towards Lockhart Mills. The levels is
normally 15 - 20ft lower than this.

The flooded Kirkham Turn. This is where the Rochdale canal joins the Calder &
Hebble Navigation.

Flooding at Tuel Lane Lock on the Rochdale Canal.

Very High River Calder flowing past the Weaving Shed Apartments (right of picture) and
Dugdales Mill left of picture. Dugdales was severely flooded during this event.

River Calder at Gas Works Bridge, considering the damage done to Cromwell, Copley and
Elland Bridges, I was surprised that Gas Works Bridge still stood after the floods.

River Calder at Gas Works Bridge, looking more like a dam head than river crossing.

High level River Calder at Lockhill Mill, much of the red brick building was damaged beyond
repair by the flood and demolished the year after.

River Calder from above the Turks Head Beer Garden, the lower half of the iron footbridge
was just in to the flooded area. Dugdales mill storage yard can be seen heavily
flooded in the background.

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A Trip to Venice, and St Marks Square Flooding.

A Trip to Venice is a new video uploaded to YouTube I have done featuring various scenes taken around the Italian city whilst I was there for a few days at the end of October start of November 2018. The video is approx. 2 1/2 minutes long and features scenes from a boat trip along the Grand Canal, scenes around the ST Marks area of Venice and various other short clips of the canals and buildings of Venice.



St Marks Square Flooding is a 1min 50sec video of various scenes filmed around St Marks on random days and times during my stay. In 2018 whilst I was there Venice was suffering it's worst flooding since 1968 the hotel staff had informed me. On the day I arrived I had to wade through waist high water across St Marks Square to reach my hotel and every day the area was flooded to a certain degree. In recent news the reports have been saying that Venice has suffered worse flooding this year than when I was there, I feel desperately sad for the people and can only hope the plan flood defences are finally built that have been promised. The people were fantastic and just accepted the flooding as part of there everyday life.


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Sowerby Bridge, Nearly Flooded Again.

On March 16th 2019 after many days of constant rain, the water levels of the Rochdale Canal and the Rivers Calder & Ryburn began to rise causing great concern amongst the residents of the town of Sowerby Bridge. The town was badly hit by flooding on Boxing Day 2015 and it still lingers in the memory of many people who were affected by this. These are video clips I took and have uploaded to YouTube of the night of the high water and the morning after when the town breathed a great sigh of relief.

The first video shows the town as the levels were rising.

And the next 2 show Mearclough Bridge and Sowerby Bridge Cricket Ground on the nights when the levels were rising and the morning after when the rivers were much lower.

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Sowerby Bridge Floods, 3 Years Later

Boxing Day 2015 saw flooding devastate the Calder Valley from Todmorden through to Brighouse, including my home town of Sowerby Bridge. I took a small set of pictures then of the ongoing flooding and with time to pass this morning, I thought I would return to roughly the same area and re picture some of them. The pictures below can only be seen on this blog post, however clicking any image should open a link in another window to my Clickasnap Profile.

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Venice: Day 1, 29 October 2018

Monday, October 29th, 2018. Our arrival in the fabled city of Venice was less a gentle gondola ride and more a wade into watery wonder. Instead of the postcard-perfect canals reflecting centuries of history, we were greeted by an altogether more dramatic scene: Venice submerged.

They say acqua alta, the high water, is a part of Venetian life. But the deluge that greeted us on our first day was something else entirely. Reports trickled in of the worst flooding in over a decade, the water levels in places, particularly around the iconic St. Mark's Square, creeping alarmingly close to three feet. The romantic notion of exploring the labyrinthine alleyways quickly dissolved into the more pressing reality of navigating a city rapidly turning into a temporary lagoon.

Our initial plans for a leisurely exploration were, shall we say, dampened. The heart of Venice, the areas we had dreamt of seeing first, were simply unreachable. Instead, our initial hours were spent confined to the periphery – the areas around the airport and our hotel becoming our unexpected initial playground.

But even in these less celebrated corners, the power and strangeness of the situation were undeniable. The familiar sounds of rolling suitcases were replaced by the slosh of water, the usual bustle punctuated by the lapping tide against doorways. Reflections danced on surfaces that should have been dry, turning ordinary streets into shimmering, albeit inconvenient, waterways.

Armed with whatever photographic tool came to hand – my trusty Sony phone for quick snaps, the surprisingly capable camera on my Amazon tablet, and my reliable Nikon D330 SLR for when conditions allowed – I tried to capture the surreal beauty of this unexpected introduction to Venice. These first images aren't of grand palazzos or bustling markets. They are a testament to the resilience of a city facing a formidable force of nature, a glimpse into the everyday adapting to the extraordinary.

They are pictures of a city holding its breath, waiting for the waters to recede, but even in its submerged state, radiating a unique and unforgettable charm. This wasn't the Venice we expected, but it was certainly a Venice we will never forget. Stay tuned for more as (hopefully!) the waters subside and we can venture deeper into the heart of this incredible, if currently very wet, city.

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Taken at the Venice airport boat moorings waiting for my transfer to the city.

This was my first proper land based view of Venice, taken from the boat landing area near
St Marks Square looking across the water to the church of San Giorgio Maggiore.

Looking down from my hotel room at San Marco Palace to the flooded courtyard below.

Flooding outside Doge's Palace at the entrance to St Mark's Square. The water got deeper than
this crossing the square, reaching chest height on me before I successfully reached my hotel.

The hotel steps.

I took this shortly after take off from Manchester Airport looking out across the Peak
District. The sun had not long since risen. At a guess I think the plane would have been
somewhere between Marple Bridge and New Mills.

The Hotel Steps again, looking up towards the sky light.

Looking down towards the Alps Mountain range somewhere near the borders of Switzerland,
Liechtenstein, Austria and Italy.

The rooftops of Venice viewed from my hotel room at San Marco Palace.

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