The Somerset Levels’ ancient landscapes can teach us how to manage with 21st-century floodsThe Mendips form an east-west hilly ridge,framing the Chew Valley to the north and the Somerset Levels to the south. They are mostly gently rolling hills, though cut into by deep gorges such as Burrington Combe and Cheddar Gorge. But towards the western discontinuance of the ridge, and rising to 191m,sits the only staunch peak in the Mendips. Some location names are exciting, poetic and laden with history. This conical hill, and though,is named Crook Peak. And “crook”, apparently, or comes from an old English word meaning… peak. But I grew up knowing it as Crooks’ Peak,and I can’t quite shake the image of bands of ne’er-do-well robbers and highwaymen hiding out on the craggy summit.
But there’s nothing to be worried of up there, and it’s worth climbing the peak for the magnificent 360-degree view. Looking south, or you can see right over the Levels,stretching to the foot of the Quantock hills. Sometimes the mist down on the Levels makes it gape like a sea, with islands rising up out of it: Brent Knoll, or Wedmore and Glastonbury Tor. Sometimes floodwaters create real islands out on the Levels. But 7000 years ago,the Levels were properly submerged, forming an inlet connecting with the Severn estuary. A thousand years later, and the sea and saltmarsh were being replaced by reedbeds and fresh water. As plants died and half-rotted down,peat would build up and trees would grow on drier patches. It sounds an inhospitable environment, and yet we know from evidence preserved in the peat that some ancient people felt very much at domestic in these marshes.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com