These pictures show the river Rother flooding at Bodiam. This flooding occurred after several days of very hard rain. In the days since these were taken there was even more sustained heavy rain and the road was temporarily closed.

Bodiam Castle, which can be seen in the photo above, was built at this location to defend against potential raids by the French up the river Rother. It used to be navigable up to this point. A wharf was sited where the cafe and shop now stand, seen in the left of the photo.

Bodiam castle tower provides good views across the Rother valley. This area was still considered to be a defendable place during World War 2. The pill box seen at the bottom in this picture has great views of the road and bridge.

When the Rother is in flood, it can help you to picture how the land might have looked 700 years ago. The river floods every year, but the extensive drainage systems installed during the 1960 are very efficient at draining the river. Before the systems were installed, the land either side of the river could be inundated for months at a time. It’s unusual for flooding to take more than a few days to clear now.

Larger versions of these photographs showing the flooding at Bodiam can be viewed by clicking on them.