High alert for freak floods in Dorset for third day in a row

Dorset flood gates closed for a second day and expected to shut for a third following a Met Office weather warning of heavy rain and stormy winds.

The yellow warning covers from Bournemouth and Ferndown all the way to Penzance in Cornwall.

A spokesperson at the Environment Agency said: “We are expecting large offshore waves. Large waves may cause debris to be carried from the beach on paths and walkways.”

They added: “the next few high tides are expected to be higher than usual, potentially causing more flooding.”

A spokesperson from Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole Council said: “Our high tides are usually at 7:22am and 7:38pm and we are expecting them to be upwards of 2 metres. We usually expect our high tide to be around 1.78 metres.”

The Met Office initially issued the warning for Monday evening from 7pm and 9:30pm, a second warning was made for Tuesday morning, 7am until 10:15am.

A third warning has now been issued for Wednesday 3am until 8am.

Travel disruption is expected as journeys may take longer due to “spray and surface water” said a spokesperson at the Met Office.

They added: “coastal roads are most likely to flood and bus and train services may be affected.”

Kinson Road, near the A341, has already had to be closed due to a water leak, causing two bus routes to be diverted and delaying journeys towards Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

For the latest updates visit the Met Office website and for travel updates go to the Dorset Council website

Dorset’s coastal location means it is vulnerable to flooding during wet winter months.

There was a flash flood caused by heavy rain on October 21st.

That caused trains in the Poole area heading to Weymouth to run at a reduced speed.

Scientists say the south coast is seeing more warnings and risks of floods each year due to climate change.

Urban Water said: 5% of properties within Dorset - about 17,750 properties - are at risk of flooding this winter, it is also predicted by Climate Central that Dorset will be permanently underwater by 2050.

Celebrating independent traders and keeping the Southbourne High Street alive

A new campaign that celebrated independent traders took over Southbourne High Street over the weekend.

Market stalls popped up along the pavement and businesses were encouraged by the Love Southbourne Project to host events.

Love Southbourne was launched five weeks ago by The Wight Bear's pub landlord, Simon Bentley, and James Fowler, who owns The Larderhouse, Parlourmentary and Terroir Tapas.

Both are keen to promote the unique side of retail that Southbourne has to offer, from sustainable up-cycled furniture to homemade bakes.

Simon said: "We started it to celebrate independent traders and to try and bring people back to the high street."

James added: “Especially after the last few years of COVID and the rise in internet shopping, I thought it was so important to bring traders back to the spotlight and give their customers something extra special.”

Shoppers were given a mini-introduction to wine from the Dorset Wine School, or there was the option of a free pint from The Wight Bear when buying a vinyl album.

Makla's pony petting with Emily the Elf was popular, and Luke Jefford, head chef at The Larderhouse, took people to Fisherman’s Walk for a free one-hour foraging tour.

Tastebuds were delighted by the variety of food, ‘Mark’s Meat Southbourne Sausages’, ‘Ricky's and Root's Street food at Parliamentary’, and kids ate for free at Sobo Fish over the entire weekend.

A local coffee shop commented that it’s profit in sales nearly doubled on the Saturday.

After the success of the Love Southbourne Campaign over the weekend there are plans already underway to have more of these events.

James said “We are having a debrief next week, the intention is to roll out more of these events and get more traders and events on the go.”

Their thank you post stated that they “are making sure our independent high street remains at the heart of the Southbourne community”

The post also stated that they will remain active on social media and to keep updated with future Love Southbourne events you can follow them on Instagram or Facebook.

10 REASONS YOU SHOULD HOLIDAY SOLO

In today’s world we are always making sure we are pleasing others, whilst keeping ourselves happy. Compromising is part of everyday life, whether with friends or within romantic relationships, we always need to meet in the middle and consider others.

Learning to deal with things not going our way is important but it is also important that we do sometimes practice a little self-love and put ourselves first, and this is why I am sharing 10 reasons you should holiday solo.

1. FREEDOM When you have officially decided you are going to holiday alone you realise you have no one else to please but yourself. You think about where you have always wanted to go, what you have always wanted to do or go for however long you want. The freedom you have learnt within those few moments is incredibly exciting.

2. PLANNING FOR YOU

Once you have decided where you are going, you can begin to think about why you chose that place, have you chosen a beach/spa getaway to escape a busy life and relax; or a place filled with museums and culture to learn about?

No matter what you chose it is for you! You can plan and book in advanced activities you know you will definitely want to do. Once these have been planned for on top of your already booked holiday, the excitement grows even more!

3. MAKING UNEXPECTED FRIENDS Making friends when on holiday is, believe it or not, easier when you are there on your own, some tourist activities you book may be group ones involving other families and conversations of similar interest will crop up naturally. If you are hitting the restaurants and nightlife as a single person, even in foreign countries, you are much more approachable. This does take a bit of a confidence build but if you are out with friends, you are more likely to stick to those friends as it’s your comfort zone.

4. LEARNING LOCAL WAYS

When alone lots of people are more intrigued in what is going on around them, to use a more common phrase “people watching”. This want to be involved can open our minds, maybe you decide to take a class to learn about the culture, or you make a new friend and learn about the culture through them.

5. NO ANNOYING HABITS TO “PUT UP” WITH Let’s face it. No matter how much we love them, our friends, family, boyfriends/girlfriends, they all have little annoying habits that we could do without, and on most days, we deal with them no problem, but it is healthy for us to let go and forget about them for a while.

6. TIME TO REFLECT This alone time will give you time to reflect. Reflection is an important part of everyday life, but due to people’s busy lives this reflection time is often deemed “not important” and therefore overlooked. Allowing this reflection time, whilst sitting in a relaxed environment with no distractions, will cause you to realise things that you want to happen or change when you get back home, maybe you realise how to improve your career, or have thought of a way to make your morning routine easier. Whatever it may be, it is a breakthrough!

7. YOU WILL GAIN IN SELF-CONFIDENCE

Once you have done something outside your comfort zone, enjoyed it, and realised the benefits it has on your life, both short and long term. You will not only want to do it again, but you will gain confidence in yourself, in lots of different ways, speaking to locals, making new friends, doing more things for yourself whether in your home life, career, or for pure enjoyment. You gain a bit of a “if I can stepped out my comfort zone once, I can do it again” thought process.

8. YOU GAIN MORE AWARENESS OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS Naturally, being in an unfamiliar location and on your own will cause you to be more alert of what is happening around you, not in a paranoid way, it can be in an interesting way. You will notice things about that you may have missed, had you been on holiday with a friend or family member. These are the moments you spend looking out a window whilst travelling on a train, you may see something and think to yourself “I must visit there before I leave”.

9. ROMANCE

We already touched on this slightly, but you will meet people, as said in unexpected friends. The people you meet will want to know why you set off on your own so boldly, and what bought you to this place. If you happen to meet a local, they will be eager to show you around, and find out what you want to do, and each person you encounter will bring more value to your trip.

10. SELF-DISCOVERY

No matter what happens to you on your solo holiday, one thing your can be certain of is that you will know yourself much better than you did at the start. You will have more of an idea of what you enjoy, what to avoid, all this from an experience that was not influenced by anyone else, you were able to form your conclusions and opinions on your own.