30 January: The River Severn

On this date in 1607 The River Severn flooded, inundating Barnstaple, Gloucester and everything in between. The flood reached as far as Cardiganshire, Bristol, the Gwent Levels and Glastonbury Tor, 14 miles away. It was estimated that 2,000 people were killed. Ten things you might not know about the River Severn.

1. It's Britain's longest river at 220 miles/354km long, flowing from Plynlimon, the highest point in the Cambrian Mountains in Wales to the Bristol Channel. For much of its length it provides a physical boundary between England and Wales although it also meanders into England at times, into Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.
2. Its estuary, which is said to begin at the Prince of Wales Bridge, which carries the M4 between England and Wales, is between two and nine miles wide and 4,409 square miles/11,419 square kilometers in area. The tides in the estuary are the second highest in the world.
3. It is these tides which give rise to the Severn Bore, a wave which can travel up the river for over 25 miles. The bores occur about 260 times a year, twice daily on the days immediately following the new moon and the full moon. The largest ones, the ones which get the media coverage, happen around the equinoxes. The highest recorded Severn bore was on 15 October 1966 when it reached a height of 2.8m/9.2 feet at Stonebench.
4. The tides here are being considered as a means of generating electricity in the UK. A feasibility study was launched in 2008. The UK government decided not to invest in such a scheme, but a privately funded project wouldn't be ruled out.
5. The name is thought to have derived from a Celtic word, samarina, which means "land of summer fallow". In Roman times the name evolved to become Sabrina. A folk tale grew up about a nymph named Sabrina who drowned in the river. Sabrina is also the name of the Celtic goddess of the river, at least up to the point where it becomes tidal. At that point Sabrina hands over deityship to Nodens, a sea god who is said to ride the Severn Bore mounted on a seahorse.
6. In Welsh, the river is known as Hafren.
7. In Tudor times the estuary was known as the Severn Sea.
8. Tributaries of the Severn include the rivers Stour, Vyrnwy, Worfe, Teme, Avon Wye and Usk.
9. Some of the towns it flows through are Welshpool, Shrewsbury, Ironbridge, Bridgnorth, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcester and Gloucester.
10. Writers and composers who have mentioned or been inspired by the Severn include William Shakespeare, A.E. Houseman, Ellis Peters, Julian Barnes and Edward Elgar.

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A Tale of Two Sisters

During a battle with supervillains, a horrific accident leaves the Warner family with no option but to believe their youngest daughter, Jessica, is dead. It doesn't occur to them that the bad guys could, or would, save her.

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