The waters of the Severn are even higher than they were last Friday. Where the course of the river was clearly delineated by its flow, in the fields near Leighton, there now appears to be one big lake. It’s too deep now for the wading birds – they’ve gone, though I’m sure I heard an oystercatcher.

In Ironbridge, the flood is high against the barrier – it’s almost to the top of the railings beside the Wharfage footpath, and it’s not yet at its peak. (Flashback to 2012: did someone say “drought”?)