Snow caused chaos to Kent and East Sussex this week. It has been described as a winter wonderland but the snow that fell in Kent and East Sussex on Sunday, December 11 caused havoc on the roads and caused much hardship and distress to many.
Many people who had started out on journeys earlier in the day were completely caught out when the snow started to settle and the roads became ice rinks. The A21 was at a standstill and many families were stranded with young children for hours. Others never got home as their cars were stuck in snow drifts: a nightmare that no-one was prepared for.
There were many stories on the news of kindnesses given to those in trouble.
The Swan Pub at Sandhurst put this message up on Facebook and looked after many stranded motorists through the night:
CUSTOMER INFORMATION: for anyone who is stuck in this scary weather, we are opening for hot meals, warmth and drinks for anyone who needs help. We are also here all night for those who are stranded and need a place to stay till the morning with blankets and space to sleep.
Stay safe!
Shannon & Claire
Speaking to Shannon and Claire today they had this to add: “We set up a ‘safe haven’ for people to come to. Eggs and chips, tea and coffee were given freely. We just wanted to make sure everyone was safe. They were so grateful. It was a beautiful experience. The stranded travellers came from all walks of life and together we just made it a positive thing out of something very traumatic.”
Simon Parsons was one of the unlucky travellers caught in the snow.
“After joining in with carols at Rye Harbour RNLI it was time to take our granddaughter back home to Tunbridge Wells. By the time we arrived we had heard there was a possibility of snow by six or seven o’clock so after a quick cup of tea we headed back home in plenty of time at 4:15pm … or so we thought!
“By the time we joined the A21 at North Farm the snow was falling thick and fast with flakes the size of 50p pieces. The need for caution became clear and after good progress initially it took over an hour to reach Flimwell but we couldn’t turn left onto the Hawkhurst road as cars had become stuck trying to negotiate the lights so we quickly opted to head on towards Johns Cross and hopefully pick up the route back to Rye via Broad Oak. Traffic came to a virtual standstill fifteen minutes later at Hurst Green.
“Edging forward a few metres every ten or twenty minutes got us to the top of the steep hill leading down to Robertsbridge which was where the real fun started. There was no possibility of turning round, not that we would have found any other route safer. We were lucky; we had coats, blankets and a full tank of fuel so started to contemplate a night in the car. Our backup plan, if we made it to the bottom of the hill, was to hope that relatives in Salehurst might be reachable to bed down for the night.
“Slowly we progressed in stages down the ice-covered hill (with the brave help of members of the public chopping up two inch thick sheets of ice). We reached the bottom, turned off the main road, abandoned the car and walked to our relatives’ house for a welcome cup of tea. That stage of the journey took two hours!
“Getting all the info we could, we decided to set out again a while later and were fortunately stopped by the emergency services to say that they had managed to plough a single carriageway route through to Hastings so we could press on as long as we were careful to avoid all the fallen trees littering the road.
“We were very concerned about getting from Hastings to Rye as Google told us White Hart Hill was closed – we couldn’t turn off for Broad Oak because of thick snow and trees but had already decided to stick to A roads in case of accident or breakdown and theorised that these roads would be cleared first if we couldn’t get through.
“After chicaning through the rest of the A21 we reached the Ridge at Hastings and much to our surprise conditions rapidly improved and apart from avoiding abandoned cars and a few more trees we safely reached home some seven hours after setting out on our usual forty-five minute journey.
“I’ve driven in the snow a lot over the last forty-five years and never experienced anything quite like this. The best advice, as always, is not to venture out in severe weather conditions, but this snow caught many people out by the speed with which its fall escalated. Hats off to the emergency services, the council plough drivers and to all the Good Samaritans we encountered shovelling snow, clearing ice and helping those who were stuck. A special congratulations to the articulated lorry driver who negotiated his rig down that hill – that was driving skill!”
One little interesting fact about snow. Fresh snow absorbs sound, lowering ambient noise over a landscape because the trapped air between snowflakes attenuates vibration. That is why it gets so quiet when it snows. I remember as a child waking up and lying in bed and realising it had snowed because the world outside was so quiet.
Image Credits: Kt bruce , The Swan Sandhurst , Simon Parsons .
Well done to all that helped. I know some who had an horrific nightmare journey.