River Aire tidal roads/ wet lanes

[Fern Girl]

I'm wondering if anyone out there can tell me if Leeds or thereabouts has lanes or roads affected by tidal flooding of the Aire? I've been visiting some old places over here near Lancaster that are intemittently cut off by high tides and floods - all quite mysterious. I'm not sure how far the tidal reach is with the Aire and whether it affects Leeds? Were ther soe parts prone to regular flooding perhaps?I'm writing a story set in such a place and to know one in the Leeds environment would be excellent.

[Cardiarms]

No the aire in leeds isn't tidal, I think the tidal reach somewhere just past Selby.

[Fern Girl]

I kind of wondered if it was too far upstream! But I'd still be v.interested if there are any regularly flooded places as they can be linked with lost rivers or old flood plains.Thanks for replying so quickly

[Phill_dvsn]

Fern Girl wrote: I'd still be v.interested if there are any regularly flooded places as they can be linked with lost rivers or old flood plains. The worst, and first place it seems to flood in Leeds is at Crown Point bridge, which funnily enough isn't the site of a lost river, but it is the outfall of a buried stream that now flows through culverts underground.It just goes to show how streams and rivers form in the lowest lying land, hence why this area is affected by floods more often. More info about the culvert herehttp://www.secretleeds.co.uk/forum/Messages.as ... tMessage=0    

[raveydavey]

Depends what you define as "Leeds", but to the east of Leeds (still a Leeds postcode), Allerton Bywater and the roads between there and the river are notoriously susceptible to flooding and are on a recognised flood plain.That includes the A656 Barnsdale Road, which is the route of a Roman Road (and was once the Great North Road / A1) and has a history all of it's own.

[Jogon]

phillThere's a fab youtube of this too (for us 'armchair' explorers)http://youtu.be/Cecu5kyUf2M

[Fern Girl]

Those Crown Point pictures are pretty dramatic when you put human scale in! And I've been prompted through the comment on the Allerton Bywater flooding to look at the Environment Agency website and it led me to some maps of flood risk places in Leeds itself. I was originally interested in the area around where Knostrop Hall was as I'm fascinated by Atkinson Grimshaw and his paintings and how radically that area has changed. I was intrigued to find recently that some old villages had cobbled wet lanes which took the course of the local river or stream for a bit so that carraige wheels were cleaned before entering and sullying the village roads. They were slightly different to fords. I found it interesting anyway :-)Thanks

[Jogon]

Knostrop Hall (demolished 1960, I think) looms large in the History of Leeds.Just reading a book (The Romance of Old Leeds published nineteen-zero eight) where the Author visited and had a look round inside and out."The Easy Road tramcar deposits you within ten minutes' walk of Knostrop.Blackened with smoke thought the modern Knostrop is, some of it's former attractiveness still lingers, and a few rhubarb fields lend something of a rural aspect to it"1654 Captain Adam Baynes lived there. First member of Parliament for Leeds.    

[Richard A Thackeray]

Fern Girl wrote: I've been visiting some old places over here near Lancaster that are intemittently cut off by high tides and floods - all quite mysterious. Sunderland Point, no doubt???

[Fern Girl]

Yes you guessed! Sunderland Point is a very mysterious place - with such a history, now faded and all the more atmospheric for it. People do live there and obviously plan thier home lives around the tides. It's kind of beautifully bleak.