Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Look out for sea birds on the mud flats

At certain times the Lower Parting is a great place to view the famous Severn Bore but please be careful and exercise caution. If the river is full following lots of rain, there is a good chance that it will over-top the bank and fill the field where the ground is low.

You are now on Port Ham - part of Alney Island which is the area of land surrounded by the East and West Channels of the River Severn at Gloucester.

Make your way to the point where the two river channels join back together - known as the Lower Parting. (The Upper Parting can be found about 3km, or 1.5 miles, north of here - near Maisemore).

Surfers on the Severn Bore

The mudflats here, visible at low tide from the Lower Parting, are a haven for sea birds. It's a common sight to see (and hear!) hundreds of gulls gathered together to feed.

This is potentially a great place to view the Severn Bore because you can see head-on the wave coming towards you and then splitting off to either side. If you're planning on doing this walk at a time when the bore is due PLEASE BE CAREFUL. If the river is full the water could overflow onto the point where you are standing. (See the warning above).

The Severn Bore is one of the natural wonders of the UK.Μύ It's a large tidal wave that works its way up the Severn Estuary, where the tidal range is the second highest in the world (as much as 15m or 50ft at Beachley, several miles south of here).

Port Ham close to the Lower Parting

The bore cascades through the countryside over a distance of 25 miles between Awre and Gloucester and can reach speeds of up to 20kph (13mph) and be 2m (6ft) in height. After the bore has passed the direction of the current in the river is reversed for a time.

When the bore in the west channel reaches the Upper Parting on a big tide some of the water turns back into the east channel, and where this meets the bore coming up the east channel some very turbulent conditions are created.

The largest bores are in the spring and autumn, but they actually occur on about 130 days of the year, twice a day. If you're really lucky you may be the only witness to a fairly large bore that hasn't been predicted. The height of each bore is notoriously difficult to calculate!

The Severn Bore is one of only three surfable tidal waves. The others are on the River Yangtze in China and the Bay of Fundy in Canada. Each year dozens of surfers compete to ride the longest tidal bore.

At the time of writing Dave Lawson from Gloucester is the current champion surfer with an official record of (9.1km) 5.7 miles on his surfboard. This momentous journey in 1996 took over 40 minutes and was recorded by an official from the British Surfing Association.

OK, you've been "bored" enough now. Let's move on...

Turn left, and continue walking along the path, keeping the river on your right hand side until you come to Point 7, a point from where you should be able to see Gloucester Cathedral in the distance.