Gale force winds, driving rain and poor natural light.
There is no incentive to range out into the countryside or up the coast for one of those New Year affirming bracing walks. In previous years the day has brought fine and very unseasonal conditions which make a stroll upon the beach very pleasant. In contrast there has also been thick snow and ice on the ground providing a challenge to get anywhere at all but for the dedicated and persistent there can be the reward of an idyllic scene and rare stillness that can take your breath away.
It was a family decision at about 2pm today to disregard the buffeting barrage and just go out.
We had no real destination in mind but were drawn to the shoreline of the mighty Humber Estuary which can always be relied upon to provide something interesting from wind whipped white topped waves to a beached mammal and wheeling gulls to wide open views of water and sky.
A few weeks ago a tidal surge had breached the river defences and a slow insidious mass of grubby river had made its way well into the city centre causing damage to homes and businesses.
The same combination of high tides and strong winds had been expected on the first day of 2014 and we did feel a bit like ambulance chasers as we parked up close to the tidal barrier.
Encouraging for the local residents was the fact that the large metal gate remained up in its holding position. The corridor of the river was mostly mud banks with a receding tide. The peak of the tide would not be until just before 6pm giving plenty of time for the green painted barrier to be swung down across the mouth of the River Hull. This physical presence had been severely tested in the early December surge with the waters lapping within a few centimetres of the top but being just enough to protect upwards of 10,000 premises from catastrophic inundation.
Prior to the construction of the barrier it had been a matter of regularity for the city to be flood stricken.
The published Tide Tables indicated an expected 7.8 metre water level representing a significant bulb of water from the low tide levels at a mere 1 metre.
Next stop for us was the surfaced car park down by the P&O Ferry Terminal. This has a great uninterrupted aspect over what must be 20 miles or more from the elegant Humber Bridge in the west to the eastern sweep of Spurn Point.
A few like minded New Year Day-ers or just lost souls were parked up looking out through their rain splattered windscreens for any early signs of trouble from the restless waters of the Humber.
Seagulls were standing streamlined, beak to tail plumage braced into the fierce wind with only a slight, deft adjustment of their bright yellow legs to maintain position in an echelon arrangement. New arrivals swooped in and used the power of the gale under their wings to ease up and in slow motion make a graceful landing in what seemed to be their pre-determined place in the line-up.
Other gulls overshot the landing zone and momentarily careered out over the wave tops before trying again. Their nonchalant attitude made it look as though that had been their intention all along and no way from a loss of attention and concentration.
We peered through the increasingly murky late afternoon scene.
The huge passenger and freight ferry was ablaze with deck lights, stern on to us, and we could make out the movement of inter-continental juggernauts across the jetty and disappearing into the guts of the ship. The passengers would be waiting to board, huddled in the adjacent terminal, most of them a bit hesitant about the very real prospect of rough crossing of the North Sea to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. I could sympathise with them based on the fact that our car was already rocking and reeling on the quayside and we were in a fairly sheltered spot.
A large container ship was making its way with the tide up the Estuary. It's lofty superstructure was being battered by the weather and the whole vessel was making slow progress in a crab-like action. The lower part of the hull was showing its red-oxide paintwork below the light blue ironwork of its riveted plates suggesting that part of the deck-stowed load had been dropped in another Port or perhaps had just toppled off into the open sea as invariably seemed to happen if you scanned the news channels.
We watched, fascinated as the Dutch registered Elisabeth executed a smooth 180 degree turn directly in front of us and faced back into the wind. It had hardly moved from an invisible pivot point in the manoeuvre.
The weather continued to deteriorate fast and together with the fading afternoon light gave us all a feeling of vulnerability against the powerful forces of nature at play. The prospect of returning to our home and a cup of tea seemed most welcoming.
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