Heatwave reveals signs of Cumbria’s very own Atlantis
LAST weekend I walked the first two legs of the Pennine Way through the Peak District and I have never seen the moorlands so bone-dry.
Plumes of wildfire smoke drifted along the horizon, the parched peat bogs were drained of all moisture, while almost every reservoir we passed appeared to be shrinking back.
Without wishing to appear too alarmist, following what has now been confirmed as the driest June on record in parts of the country, water supplies are dwindling as rivers and streams dry up.
In Herefordshire, the Environment Agency has even moved in to rescue more than 130 trout and salmon from the parched riverbed of the Teme.
The threat of imminent hosepipe bans hangs heavy. Scottish Water has appealed for people to cut back on water usage in what is being seen as a possible first step towards mandatory restrictions, similar to those already imposed in Northern Ireland.
Demand for water in Scotland has surged 30 per cent in recent weeks, with customers drawing an extra 140 million litres per day from reservoirs.
You know things are getting really dry, when the Cumbrian village of Mardale Green rises from its watery grave. In August 1935 the village was flooded and turned into an extension of the Haweswater Reservoir by the Manchester Water Authority.
Hundreds were evacuated from their homes, while farm buildings, the village pub and church were dismantled stone by stone. Even coffins were dug up and re-interred in a different part of the parish. In recent days the reservoir has receded far enough to reveal dry stone walls and roads that once led to the village.
The forecast over the next few days – and even further into July – shows no sign of the heatwave abating. Who knows what other lost Atlantis may yet be revealed?