What is Severn Bore? Hundreds flock to watch rare tidal wave in Gloucestershire

All eyes are on Gloucestershire as the Severn Bore was seen in daylight for the first time in five years
Nuray Bulbul13 March 2024

To the delight of surfers and onlookers alike, the lone five-star bore tidal wave surged up the Severn Estuary on Tuesday morning (March 12).

A few four-star bores are predicted later in the week, but during the wet morning yesterday, surfers were enjoying the waves at the five-star bore.

Red alert warnings for the River Severn and River Wye have been issued by the Environment Agency due to the unusually wet weather over the previous month. It is advised to keep note of this prior to your journey if interested in going.

Despite the dirt and smell, Lloyd Russell, who went from Cornwall to surf the Severn Bore, told the BBC's Today Programme that the experience was "quite fun”.

He added: “It’s muddy, it’s dirty, it’s not glamorous. Everything smells. A little bit of poo and muddy rivers. You get out of the river and you’re absolutely caked in mud. It’s quite fun really. Sliding down the river banks.”

What is Severn Bore?

The Severn Bore is a tidal surge that causes a series of waves along the river.

Surfers, paddleboarders, and kayakers were up early to capture the surge, and the natural phenomena drew visitors from all over the world.

It is brought on when the incoming tide is forced against the river's current into an ever-tinier passage.

The Severn Estuary has the second-highest tide globally, with a daily variation of over 14.5 metres (47ft) between the lowest and highest tides. Every lunar cycle throughout the spring and autumn has multiple days with these high tides, often known as spring tides. This was the first daylight occurrence of the five-star bore since 2019 and even reached the lower parts of the River Severn. It rushed up between Newnham-on-Severn and Over in Gloucestershire between eight and ten in the morning.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in