Unfortunately just as we'd managed to shift all the water from Storm Babet off the reserve, we were topped up a couple of days later by water belonging to Storm Elin and Fergus, very generous of them. This has been exacerbated by the fact that the river has found a way around the flood bank and so it is currently taking lower river levels than normal to cause severe flooding on site. We're currently full to capacity with excess water flowing out into the neighbouring fields and water continues to pour in. This means that the reserve is still closed and will remain so until some point in the New Year, there is no way of knowing how long this situation will last and we anticipate this won't be the last flood event this winter, so giving an accurate re-opening date is impossible.
This is a very fluid situation and things change on a daily basis, but at the time of writing, sections of the footpath between the car park and Beach Hut are flooded, as are sections around the southern boundary. The general recommendation is to not walk through flood water, it can be fast moving and there might be hidden trip hazards or holes.
Unless something dramatic happens the car park will remain open over the Christmas period. The actual reserve will remain closed, but the local footpath network around the perimeter of Langford (4 miles long) and which provides brilliant views over the reserve will be open... how much will be safely passable though is another matter and so caution is advised. There won't be staff on site over the Christmas periods so flooding updates are unlikely to be posted.
In terms of wildlife seen recently from the perimeter footpath highlights have included 3 bitterns, stonechats, jack snipe, common snipe, curlew, goldeneye, pintail, marsh harrier, kingfishers, stoat, bullfinches, black-necked grebe, green sandpiper and barn owl.
Panoramic view looking westwards across Phase 2, taken today, blue cross hovers over Olaf the Oak for reference.