Flooded

The sign at the top of Blakey Lane said it all: road ahead closed. We had no doubt why. When the streams and rivers that feed into Cod Beck are filled to the brim by rain, Cod Beck itself grows and grows, stretching out onto the flood plains around. And that means that just beyond the ancient Blakey Lane bridge the road where it bends sharply away from the line of the Beck towards the York Road disappears beneath water. Like quite a few others, including my colleague Chris Purser, I wandered down the Lane to see how bad it all was. The bridge stood firm, coping as ever with the force of water flowing under its arch….