In advertisements for holiday cottages for Seathwaite in the Lake District, where the backdrop is all blue skies and barbecues, it does not mention that this hamlet is consistently the wettest inhabited place in England.
Even the trekkers’ guide for Borrowdale, which starts in Seathwaite, only mentions the possibility of rain by advising walkers to wear appropriate clothing because “the weather can be changeable”.
This is after discussing the wonderful views from the top of Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak, which is what gives Seathwaite its weather.
Tucked away in a valley surrounded by mountains, the settlement is a lesson in hydrology. Moisture laden air comes in from the Atlantic, is forced up over Scafell Pike, cools as it rises and condenses into rain. And when it comes down in Seathwaite, on the lee side, it comes in stair rods.
The village holds the record for the highest 24-hour rainfall total and the highest two, three and four day totals; all in one remarkable storm beginning on November 16, 2009. The highest 24-hour rainfall total was on the 19th: 395.6mm, or a foot of water.
The average rainfall for the year in the village is 3,556mm, or 140 inches – around five times that in London. It can rain for days at a time. But the Met Office maps also tell another story.
When it rains in Seathwaite, and other settlements near mountains in the west, it buckets down, in contrast to the gentle precipitation elsewhere. That makes the sunnier bits in between so much more enjoyable.
