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THE GALES ARE COMING!

This is the time of year when gales blow in off the North Atlantic. Tonight and tomorrow we are supposed to get another set of these storms with sustained inland winds of around 70 mph. Fortunately, the manse is located just below Penn Lea Hill and so we are spared the most severe buffeting. Since all of the homes in Bath are made of stone, and the roofing is either slate or terra cotta, damage from such storms is usually minimal.

The reason we get hit so hard is because of our position near the Bristol Channel (see map). That body of water which runs between Devon and Cornwall to the south, and Wales to the north acts as a funnel for the winds and drives them straight across Bath and points east. The Bristol Channel, as it narrows, becomes the River Severn. Two bridges provide access to Wales but they are often closed or the number of lanes reduced when winds become as high as they are predicted. If the bridges are closed it adds nearly 80 miles to a trip into Wales.