British racecourse in ‘stunning’ location becomes home for swans after it’s left hopelessly flooded
A BRITISH racecourse set in a ‘stunning’ location has turned into a home for swans after the track was left flooded.
Worcester racecourse is still showing the signs of October’s Storm Babet, as this amazing photo from this morning shows.
PAWorcester racecourse remains underwater two months after it was forced to abandon fixtures[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationCanoes rather than horses took over the track in 2008[/caption]
PAThis photo from 2020 shows how quickly and easily the track floods, thanks to its ‘stunning’ location next to the River Severn[/caption]
The track was completely flooded then and had to cancel a number of fixtures.
Water levels have gone down since but one local resident reported seeing swans swimming on the track recently.
Located in the heart of the city and right next to the River Severn, flooding is nothing new for the National Hunt racecourse known for its summer jumping programme.
In 1998, 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2020, keen canoeists were pictured floating down the home straight.
This winter’s jumps fixture list has been decimated by the inclement weather and barrage of weather warnings.
Earlier this month it was the turn of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire to succumb to a government alert over flooding.
The home of the Peterborough Chase was left underwater when nearby Alconbury Brook burst its banks.
Huntingdon has had its fair share of floods and was hit hard in 2020 when the grandstand and surrounding buildings were damaged.
Recent floods have not been as severe, but large areas of the racing surface were submerged and will take some time to recover.
Clerk of the course Roderick Duncan said: “You can’t beat the elements. The river levels upstream were rising and we weren’t able to keep the brook within its banks.
“The entirety of the lawns in front of the grandstand and the members car park are under water.
“The sand crossing where the horses come out on to the track and the stable bend currently have standing water all across it.
“Thankfully the water didn’t quite get into the buildings. It was a few inches short.”
While Southwell was shown drowned out in amazing pictures during Storm Babet.
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