The valley up from Ballyvoile Cove has always been subject to flooding. There isn’t much about it on the Official sites regarding flooding because there are only two properties and a couple of rough fields affected. The biggest issue in the garden is all the rubbish that gets washed down the river or washed up from the sea by the tidal bore. I don’t have any pictures of the tidal bore but what happens in a storm with strong winds from the south is that waves can be combined in the cove and increase in height sending waves over the bridge and up the slipway. Local stories include water going up the road leaving a large tree stump blocking it.

Its hard to pin down facts when local folk law talks about floods up to the windows, particularly when no one can tell you the exact dates. However I did find a report to the County Manger for the storm of Saturday 16th December 1989 with pictures in a separate document. The pictures of the beach at Ballyvoile Cove indicate a storm much stronger than we have seen in the 20+ years we have been here.

Note: Add more flood pictures from further upstream.