Sometimes, when travelling on the Central line in London, I used to glance at posters for various films and shows and notice how, more often than not, they had superlatives stamped across them; this presumably as a way of attracting interest (particularly from tourists eager to fill every minute of their time in London with useful activity) and encouraging attendance at either the theatre or the cinema. Words such as ‘spellbinding’, ‘mesmerising’ and ‘unmissable’ spring to mind, along with others like ‘career-defining’ and ‘pitch-perfect’. I wasn’t convinced, and over time I began to feel that we were overusing the superlative to the point of rendering it meaningless. I made a mental note to avoid it and decided instead to stick with my much-preferred method of ironic understatement.
I recalled this as I sat down to write about the wet weather we are currently experiencing and decided, without hesitation, that I needed a superlative – something so powerful that it would help bring home what we are living through at this very moment. The story of Noah and the Ark sprang to mind which, in a flash, led me to the word ‘Biblical’. So, as I tell you more, it is important to understand that we are experiencing Biblical rainfall.
After a very hot dry summer, the weather finally started to break in October, with the last few cabin guests getting caught in prolonged showers. At the time I was glad. The weather had been so dry, the farm looked brown and burnt, and the idea that, with some Autumn rain, it would green up before winter was an attractive one. At this point it is important to say: always be careful what you wish for – because, more or less, it hasn’t really stopped raining since.
Now, in February, as I write this, we have felled timber lying on the ground in standing water that cannot be extracted or sold. The outlet pipes on the lake in the centre of the farm cannot cope, and the water level is dangerously high as a consequence. All fields are waterlogged, all winter projects are at a halt, and yet still the leaden sky over Swerford delivers almost continuous rain.
I have never seen the farm wetter and, to me, without doubt, we are truly seeing the consequences of climate change – not in theory, but underfoot
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If you would like to experience this landscape for yourself, our off-grid cabin overlooks the lake and woodland described above, while The Wild Collective offers wood-fired sauna sessions throughout the year.