Glorious weekend for Ten Tors and Transat

How incredibly different successive years can be! In 2007 the country enjoyed one of its best Aprils ever weather wise. Then in May it all started going downhill with the Ten Tors Trek on Dartmoor being (wisely) abandoned. Fast forward to this year to a cool dampish April but then a much improved early May. Last month was a little depressing because once the clocks change to British Summer Time I think in terms of turning the heating off and spending more time outside. However on reflection I'm pleased that April wasn't particularly warm because it's just possible that the disappointing weather may have inhibited the development of the midges that spread the devastating bluetongue disease. The good news here is that the vaccine is now available to combat it. Hopefully our farmers will win the race against time to protect their stock.

It has been a nice warm weekend here and I've been able to do some catch up on the garden I'm pleased to say. Although we didn't have any of the threatened thundery showers I gather that there was one such in the Fowey area yesterday afternoon. This year's 'Ten Tors' was highly successful and the weather was kind for spectators in the Plymouth area to watch the 'Transat', the once every four years single handed yacht race across the Atlantic.

At the moment it looks as if there will be a thundery breakdown of this pleasing weather during the second half of the week. Let's hope that it just a temporary blip. Surely this summer can't be as bad as the last!

Ten Tors trek abandoned

Nice and sunny now maybe but there was a lot of rain earlier and in view of the weather forecast the army decided to abandon this year's 'Ten Tors' challenge last night.

This must have been incredibly disappointing for the 2400 yougsters participating in this two day Dartmoor challenge. It seems that it was the potential problems crossing the very swollen rivers that caused the army to make their decision. This is the lottery of the British weather isn't it. We are now having a wet May after one of the driest Aprils on record.

Funeral of Charlotte Shaw

Last Wednesday saw the funeral of teenager Charlotte Shaw. Charlotte, a pupil of Bideford's Edgehill College, sadly lost her life as a result of falling into the swollen Walla Brook on 4th March. As I blogged on the following day the weather was truly awful and an adult couple also died, in this instance as a result of a wave sweeping them off a sea wall in Cornwall.

Pictures of Charlotte and what I have read indicate she was a very happy and vibrant girl. The police investigation suggests that this was a really tragic accident and that nobody should be blamed. I believe I am right in saying that Charlotte was trying to retrieve her rucksack that had fallen into the torrent. There will be those now with a sense of guilt; well they really really shouldn't feel that way. It doesn't matter how prepared you are - a tragedy like this can happen in an instant, but that doesn't lessen the pain for her family and friends.

Horrendous weather - and 3 deaths

I have already referred to the awful weather we endured yesterday (Sunday). The elements contributed to the sad deaths of 3 people over the day, a man, a woman and a teenage girl. The couple were washed off the sea wall at Mullion Cove on Cornwall's Lizard, their bodies were recovered by helicopter and they were pronounced dead at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. The other incident occurred on Dartmoor when a teenage girl on a training expedition for the Ten Tors Challenge in May slipped into the Walla Brook near Watern Tor on the northern moor. She was with a group of other youngsters from Edgehill College at Bideford. She was flown to Plymouth's Derriford Hospital in a very poorly state and tragically died during the night.

Although the weather was appalling it is too easy to say that the team from Bideford shouldn't have been out there. (It should be said that there were many other teams of teenagers out on the moor either training for the Ten Tors or progressing the Duke of Edingburgh award scheme) The thing is that there is an incredibly fine line between a close shave with death and death itself and until we hear details of the circumstances I won't make a judgment. No doubt in my mind that it's good for today's youth to take on challenges but was this a challenge too far? I believe this is the first fatality either in the Ten Tors or in the training leading up to it.

As to the couple swept away by the waves sadly this is not an isolated instance in Cornwall. My own advice is to work out the closest distance you can be from the breakers and then multiply that distance by 20 say. Definitely do not walk on any form of sea wall in those conditions. The waves and the sea generally are so variable in nature and hit with such incredible force, people just don't understand.

I now hear that another persons body has been washed up near Padstow. All in all not nice news to report.