Earlier quoted context omitted.
France also used to have Mont-Saint-Michel, but that one is no more.
Mont-Saint-Michel recently stopped existing??
Stolen by a tourist who wanted something quaint to bring home.
Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
121–130 of 136 posts
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#122Many visitors to the Southern UK are surprised by the ferocity and height of the tides here. The harbour where I live effectively becomes a fast flowing river twice a day, and the height of the water varies by 30 feet or more. It is not uncommon for the boats with the smallest engines to be unable to make headway against it.
Corryvreckan (Scotland, but still) has one of the fiercest tidal races in the world - the story goes that George Orwell almost drowned in one of the whirlpools. 'Although not, as is sometimes believed, formally classified by the Royal Navy as unnavigable, the nearby Grey Dogs, or Little Corryvreckan, are classified as such.[1] The Admiralty's West Coast of Scotland Pilot guide to inshore waters calls it "very violent…
That first image on the wiki is terrifying. Such a huge amount of energy at play.
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#123Just over half of this "path" is actually a public byway which means you have a right to traverse it by motorcar or any other method (horse and cart, bicycle etc.).
I am fascinated by tidal areas. The tide is (or should be) a familiar feature to any British holiday maker. Many of our nicest beaches are completely submerged at high tide, such as Tenby. At low tide beaches are revealed allowing safe passage to islands which were cut off only hours before. Conversely, some beaches are nicer at high tide. The low tide at Weston-super-Mare leaves a mile of treacherous mud in place of the sea.
But these flats are the most fascinating of all. On first glance these areas can seem boring: vast stretches of mud, sand and saltmarshes with just a glimpse of sea right in the distance. But it's treacherous and mysterious. Apart from the odd samphire picker, nobody comes out here. Twice a day the landscape is utterly transformed by the tide. And it happens so quickly.
I recently visited a favourite place of mine in The Wash. There are two artificial islands here that were built as a failed experiment to build a freshwater reservoir. The smaller of the two is accessible across the saltmarshes which are usually dry. The path used to be a causeway, but these days the whole marsh is above mean high water spring. The larger island can only be reached by crossing the perilous mud flats at very low tide. But it's riddled with deep tidal channels and quicksand. Legend has it King John lost his treasure out here as his baggage carts were consumed by the rising tide.
On my recent visit I decided to go at a very high tide. The highest of the year. I expected it to be more fun as the island would be more like an island, but I didn't expect the saltmarshes to be completely flooded (even though this is well known by locals, and now me). We decided to wade across anyway. The water was knee deep and I was carefully looking out for tidal inlets. As the tide was now receding, these inlets begin to flow outwards like a river, and with enough force to carry you with them. I felt confident enough only because I'd been here before. We reached the island now an hour after highest tide. Within another hour the sea recedes enough to reveal bizarre looking fingers of water formed by the never ending tide as it gently washes in and out like clockwork every 6 hours.
When you read tide tables for an unfamiliar area the numbers don't really mean much, other than one is higher than the other. But think about it: a metre of water. That's how much higher the tide was on that day. If you live in a flat area just imagine how much would be covered with an extra metre of water. It's scary. But fascinating.
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#124By the way, I wonder if there is something about liability in English law that enables this to continue to stay open and posted as a path? I would imagine that in the US, liability would quickly force local government / whoever to take down the signposts, as they "entice" people to think there is a safe, established path and should risk their lives and are probably somewhat liable for the result. I guess there aren't…
About one tourist a week dies in Hawaii doing touristy stuff. Mostly snorkeling, but occasionally hiking or climbing on rocks near the ocean. My recollection was that in Maui there was a mix of dangerous areas with warning signs and dangerous areas with no signage at all. https://www.civilbeat.org/2016/01/death-in-paradise-is-all-t...
Stairway to heaven in Oahu is a stunning trail, but forbidden since it’s dangerous and not mainteined due to high costs.
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#125I've kitesurfed near the Broomway. Really nice stretches of flat water when you get it right, but the tide comes in at a scary speed - or you have a 45 minute walk to get to the water - if you're there at the wrong time. I've also had some hairy moments where I've jumped high and realised I really had to stick the landing as the water was only a few inches deep.
As with most dangerous tides, it's not the height of the tidal change that's the problem it's the fact that it's very flat that means it comes in so fast.
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
The one in France is the causeway to Noirmoutier island. It's a two way road that is impassable at high tide. At both ends, prominent panels display warnings, the current time and the time of the next high tide. Still, there are regular occurences of people that lose their cars and have to be rescued from the shelter poles, and, very rarely, worse. Incidentally, it's about the same length as this 3 mile path, 4.2 km.…
The article's assertion that it's unique in the world is misleading. There are many tidal causeways. I've personally driven across one in Northumberland that connects the mainland to an old monastic island.
Does it say it is unique? In any case, the path/track in the article is no causeway. Tidal causeways are indeed found in many places but this is a bit different. Causeways tend to go somewhere. This just a safe path through the flats.
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was curious too and found this Reddit write-up: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/6zr2d6... Picture of the bridge. (I'm EU so couldn't view the previous link) https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/comments/5ticw5/til_a_dange...
Here's a picture from that thread showing how it works and what it's like when it lets boats through: https://i.imgur.com/nIeXbXt.png . I skimmed a bunch of articles about the bridge to figure out how the bulge possibly worked to let boats through, and none were as useful as this diagram.
Ah that's a gem.
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe creeks are different where you're from, but as a young individual in the US northeast the idea of being "swept away never to be seen again" by a creek is a bit comical, torrential rain or not. You'd make it about a few yards before hitting one embankment or other and clamber out. Cold and wet, sure, but certainly to be seen again.
Now imagine you are here when the flash flood hits: http://www.cartogramme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Kasha-... By the way, it is sunny overhead. The water is coming from a torrential downpour some miles away in the mountains. This is normal in New Mexico which experiences highly localized heavy downpours during July/August.
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Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#129“...over the centuries”. I mean, any street in San Francisco is probably deadlier.
Well, not per-capita.
Re: Desolate English path has killed more than 100 people (2017)
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
As soon as it started raining, wouldn't you have just gotten out of the creek via the nearest embankment?
Flash floods 1) develop quickly 2) often in impassable terrain (upstream and downstream are your only options), and 3) often under "blue sky" conditions from distant of hours-old rain rain. https://youtube.com/watch?v=q_yw8uUqH5I
that's really informative!