South West Water Announce Lifting of Hosepipe Ban in Cornwall
Earlier today South West Water issued a press release, which reads as follows: South West Water can confirm we will lift the hosepipe restrictions in Cornwall and Upper Tamar on 25th…
The South West Water Hosepipe Ban’s First Birthday
In the summer of 2022 South West Water announced their first hosepipe ban of the current drought on August 15th:
From 00:01am on 23 August 2022, customers who get their water from us in Cornwall and a small part of Devon will not be allowed to use a hosepipe.
It’s the first time in 26 years but we’ve been left with no other choice. We need to have a hosepipe ban now to protect our precious water.
On April 18th 2023 an extension to the temporary use ban was announced:
South West Water is urging customers to reduce non-essential water usage by extending the Temporary Use Ban, otherwise known as a hosepipe ban, which is already in place in Cornwall and parts of North Devon, to other parts of Devon.
The restrictions are being introduced to protect supplies following lower than average levels of rainfall last year and throughout February.
The hosepipe ban will apply to customers in South West Water’s Roadford supply area and will come into effect from Tuesday 25 April 2023 at 00:01.
While South West Water has taken every precaution to prevent further restrictions being required, Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly remain officially in drought status as declared by the Environment Agency.
Reservoir levels fell to their lowest recorded level last year and storage at Roadford Lake is currently around 27% lower than it was at the same time in 2022, the equivalent to nearly 3,800 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
It’s raining here in West Devon yet again this morning, as the first anniversary of the imposition of the continuing hosepipe ban rapidly approaches:
(more…)West Devon Boatbuilder Sails the Northwest Passage
In 2012 Will Stirling from Buckland Monachorum literally and metaphorically launched his wooden cutter Integrity at the Plymouth Mayflower Marina. According to Classic Boat magazine:
The 62 ft / 18.9 m (LOS) larch on oak, 1880s-inspired, gentleman’s yacht is due to debut at the British Classic Yacht Club regatta in July. Will has spent two years building Integrity which represents a departure from the replica Pilot Cutters that have been the standard wooden replica yachts from various British boatbuilders in recent years.
Our first impressions were a bit: wow! The lines of the 7 berth yacht are very sweet on the eye. She seems destined for the Med regattas or maybe the Caribbean where she would not look out of place among her ‘original’ sisters. Classic yacht broker Barney Sandeman (selling her) agreed that her £300,00 (sic) price tag was probably a bargain, but Stirling’s view is that as a first yacht of her type she acts as a prototype for what he is trying to achieve. He was joined by four boatbuilders who had helped him on the project.
However, according to a more recent article in Classic Boat, written by Will Stirling himself, thoughts of the Caribbean couldn’t have been further from his mind:
(more…)Storm Betty Barrels Towards the UK
Hot on the heels of Storm Antoni earlier this month, the Met Office in Exeter has just issued a press release about the imminent arrival of another mid-summer named storm:…
A Trip to Meldon Reservoir
A fine evening was forecast yesterday, so we jumped into Lisa, our trusty albeit ageing Nissan LEAF electric vehicle, and headed for the car park at Meldon Reservoir:
Leaving the dam for later we left Lisa in the car park and set off down the River Okement valley. Here’s what we found once we eventually reached the river:
(more…)Sewage in the Sea at Widemouth Bay
We visited the north coast yesterday afternoon, for a walk rather than a surf. The wet weather gear came out at around quarter past two: The rain became heavier overnight.…
Moving My Art to West Devon
After finally unpacking most of my things after my enforced move from Cornwall, this afternoon I went to Camelford to pick up the last of my paintings that have been on display in Camelford Gallery.
Unfortunately a police van was blocking the road opposite the gallery, where we had arranged to park:
Tamsin Edwards’ Trek for Bowel Cancer UK
Synchronicity strikes in the strangest places. Our regular reader(s) may recall that we visited Castle Drogo on Tuesday? As we were descending the Hunter's Path we passed a lady heading…
Castle Drogo in the Summer Rain
The weather forecast wasn't brilliant today, so by way of a change from the seaside we decided to head inland today, to Castle Drogo above the valley of the River…
An Electrified Trip to Bideford
We’d never been to Westward Ho! before. Or Bideford for that matter! Hence we decided to combine business with pleasure and visit them both this afternoon.
Our conveyance for the day was Lisa, our trusty Nissan LEAF electric vehicle. She planned on taking the shortest route to Bideford, but that road was “closed”. Hence we were all forced to take a detour in the direction of Holsworthy. Lisa’s first stop was in the Torridge Council car park. Two non electric council vans were visible, but no electric vehicle charging stations were to be seen. For use by either council or visitor EVs:
