Beneath the waves

With all the worries about global warming, melting ice caps and starving polar bears, I decided it was time to take a perspective from the giddy heights of Kirby Misperton. The village, as keen observers will soon note, rises on a pimple above the surrounding Vale of Pickering. The Vale itself is overlooked by the North Yorkshire Moors to the north and the Yorkshire Wolds to the south. It is highly likely that if you read tourist information about the area, the term "nestles" will be perpetrated. This is not anything to do with the notorious Swiss-based chocolate company which has a large factory at York, of course; clearly not, as otherwise the tourist industry would have been in court for violation of Intellectual Property Rights long ago. It is more to do with an attempt to brand the area with an aura of whimsy not entirely appropriate to the natural disposition of most of its inhabitants, or, indeed, of the geography itself. Perhaps the popular notion of bleak windswept moors, so beloved of Bronte and Conan Doyle, was impacting the tourist economy...who can tell?

A long time ago, not so far away, the area was a lake. Lake Pickering was formed as the result of glaciation during the last Ice Age. At that time it covered a vast area and when it finally drained, the gorge it created formed the River Derwent.

The River Derwent is a classic exponent of the area's contrary nature. In a bid for "Awkward River of the Year 10,000 BC" the river rises on the Moors, flowing down toward the coast, then teasingly cuts away from the sea on a westerly course before eventually joining the River Ouse in a controversial upstream direction. It does not, however, have the fortune to flow through Kirby Misperton; that special treat is reserved for the Costa Beck, which joins the Derwent south of the village. The Costa is most notable locally for enforcing a humpback-bridge-with-sharp-bend on the lane which is the main approach to the village, thus creating numerous accidents and major coronaries for drivers meeting large farm vehicles or Coastliner buses at its apex.

The end result of all this geological hustle and bustle is the stunningly beautiful Vale of Pickering. And don't just take my word for it! The area around the village has been settled since the Mesolithic period (about 7000 years ago) when people lived throughout the area, including famously at Star Carr near Scarborough. The village itself came into being at least in Saxon times, if not before, as a settlement or group of farms. Three are identified in the Domesday Book.

Kirby Misperton, then, sits on its hillock in the midst of geological wonders. For those with a gardening turn of mind, the soil is clay - good enough to make models from! - and generally auspicious for roses. When we first moved here the area behind the house was a miniature reconstruction of Lake Pickering, so we planted a couple of silver birch trees, some hazel and a rowan; these have settled in nicely and helped reduce the water-logging enormously.

I started by mentioning global warming. So what would happen to us if and when the sea levels rise? Predictions about sea levels in the future are extremely uncertain; they may vary from 0.11 to 0.77 metres between now and 2100.

More recently there have been news reports that such predictions were highly optimistic and that over this summer there has been a far higher than predicted loss of ice.

The good news for my neighbours and me is that we remain heads above water even with a 14m rise in sea level (and probably more), but I imagine we might find ourselves more crowded as refugees are forced to move in. It looks like many of them will be from Hull.

I find it slightly hard to believe that we are calmly charting such scenarios. Really, people, it's past time to act! Our village might still be here, but many homes will not. It's scary and it's difficult, but I would prefer my grandchildren did not have to swim over to visit, or evolve gills to get to work.