ONE year on from a huge deluge which left parts of Hereford under water last October, one Hereford family has upped sticks and moved from their devastated bed and breakfast business.
Polly Ernest, who ran East Friars B&B next to the river Wye, forged ahead with a move away from the city despite uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
She recalled the flooding and the heartache it caused as at the time East Friars B&B was on the market as Ms Ernest, 56, and her family sought a move.
At 7am on October 26 floodwater came up from the floorboards, and by late afternoon eight inches of water was in the house.
The building has since been sold, but amid the flooding heartache, she also had to cope with her mother passing away.
She now lives in west Wales with her husband Roger, who is having to shield.
She said: “The first flood, we had no idea it could possibly come that high. The warnings were all wrong and it was horrendous.
“By the time the second one came, people at least knew they could flood.
“It’s been really challenging. I’m now home-schooling my daughter as Roger is shielding, I just feel like I’ve had to completely reinvent myself.”
The severe flooding over the weekend of October 26 and 27 brought chaos to the county, with major routes across the county affected by the high waters.
Despite warnings not to enter the water by the authorities, in just 24 hours the fire service rescued 70 people in flood-related incidents. They included 64 adults, three children, three teenagers, three dogs and three cats.
The Bridge Inn in Kentchurch, between Hereford and Abergavenny, was also badly hit. When the river Monnow burst its banks, it flooded the beer garden, terrace and kitchen.
Chef William Chambers said water trickled into the kitchen at midday on the Saturday and initially kept it at bay with brooms and sand bags. But at 1pm, the water burst through the defences.
When the water subsided, locals rallied round to get the pub open again, only for it to be struck again when flooding came in February 2020.
But after the turmoil, and the coronavirus lockdown, the summer has not been a washout.
Mr Chambers, 35, said: “It’s been decent, July to the middle of September were pretty good.
“We’ve got a nice setting, but the whole world had relaxed.”
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