Ship Spotter Steve
  • Home
  • Bulk Carriers
  • Cement Carriers
  • Container Ships
  • Crude Oil Tankers
  • Cruise Ships
  • Dredgers
  • Ferries
  • Fishing Vessels
  • General Cargo Ships
  • Military & Law Enforcement
  • Off Shore Supply/Safety/Support
  • Pilot Vessels
  • Research Ships
  • Sailing Ships
  • Tankers
  • Tugs
  • Vehicle Carriers
  • Misc
  • Funnels
  • Work Boats
  • Pleasure Boats & Yachts
  • Tenders & Launches
  • Prints, Postcards & Paintings
  • Buildings, Monuments & Places
  • Yearly Statistics
  • Ship List
  • Links
  • Blog
  • Blog Index
Contact me

PENNINGTON FLASH

10/5/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Sunset over Pennington Flash, Leigh in North West England photographed as we got back to the car after a walk on 2 April 2016.

Pennington Flash is on land that was prone to flooding in an area where there was subsidence from the local coal mines, a 'Flash' is a term for water filled hollow formed by subsidence.

Up to the early part of the 20th Century the land was used for farming but two farms eventually became flooded completely and had to be abandoned, the first Lower Allanson’s in 1907 and Urmston’s-in-the-Meadows in about 1910. During the 1920s the Flash sometimes almost disappeared and at other times caused flooding to nearby residential areas and farmland.

In November 1923 the residents on the northern edge of the Flash were forced to leave their homes because of flooding. A farm on the south side of the Flash was flooded in Spring 1926, sometimes the flash almost completely disappeared as in July 1926 but each winter the water returned. Summer 1927 brought another drought and once again there was very little water in the Flash, however floods in September and severe gales in October brought the water level up again. A railway that crossed the area was underwater in January 1928 and in May of the same year the track was reinforced and the rails re-laid.

Between January and March 1929 the Flash was completely frozen over for the first time since 1907. A storm in January 1930 caused the banks to break again causing severe flooding in the surrounding area. By the Summer 1930 the water had almost completely disappeared with the water only ankle deep. Yet again the water returned in the Winter months. The cycle of the water drying up in Summer and then the returning in winter with the risk of flooding the local area seems to be a reoccurring theme that continued  up to the 1960's.

In 1951 a weir was built to control the minimum level of water in the Flash but in August 1962 freak storms caused more floods. In December 1964 there was more local flooding and a £4000 plan was put into operation in March 1965 to prevent more flooding, this seems to have failed as the surrounding areas were flooded both in February & July 1968.

During the 1970s the idea for using the for recreation and conservation were emerging and a total of 858.25 acres, costing approximately £300,000 was bought.

Pennington Flash Country Park was officially opened in 1981. The Park has a number of tracks and paths that offer walks of varying length through the nature reserve.  More than 230 species of bird  have been recorded. Insects are also abundant with 20 species of butterfly and 16 species of dragonfly being recorded in recent years. Wild flowers also grow in profusion around the nature reserve.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    My interest in ships and the sea started back in 2006 when I worked for a couple of years  on the banks of the River Mersey. I have since been on a couple of cruises around the Med and in the Far East and have started to take more interest in researching and photographing some of the ships and other vessels seen on my travels.

    Archives

    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.