Late September, Loch Muick, Aberdeenshire.
Barely a handful of miles from this tranquil scene is one of heartache and destruction. The River Dee on its way from Braemar past Balmoral brought devastation to the town and families of Ballater.
Nor is there any doubt that the waters from Loch Muick that flow down Glen Muick to join the Dee at Ballater did nothing but add to the rising water levels. Rain was heavy and relentless, record levels. Snow is forecast and if that is not enough the temperatures are set to fall, minus 10c and falling lower as the week goes on.
The hardship must seem endless for all along the River Dee and a far cry from those lazy summer days when no one could ever imagine the likes of recent storms….nor of course are they the only ones.
The first area to be hit was Cumbria, the media has moved on and the effects of the flooding are now only known by the locals who are still just trying to come to terms with what happened and to asses the damage. Cumbria was followed by Lancashire, North Wales and then Yorkshire…finally a broad swath of Scotland from Ayrshire to Aberdeenshire.
For most of England Scotland and Wales life goes on as normal with just the television images to remind us that life is far from normal for many who will bravely have to live with the after effects for months to come and no doubt dreading every drop of new rain that falls….yes, hard to imagine loosing just about everything.
10th January
(C) David Oakes 2016
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 