Made by Bootham School, York, this film documents the flooding of the River Ouse in 1969. The filmmaker captures floods along the Ouse from an urban perspective (within York), as well as rural one, and the film concludes with students bird watching. Title - Clifton & Rawlings. The film opens with cars passing over a bridge. Views then shows stretches of a river; some of which features industrial sites off in the distance and a small man made step fall. Shots then capture the Ouse around...

Made by Bootham School, York, this film documents the flooding of the River Ouse in 1969. The filmmaker captures floods along the Ouse from an urban perspective (within York), as well as rural one, and the film concludes with students bird watching. Title - Clifton & Rawlings. The film opens with cars passing over a bridge. Views then shows stretches of a river; some of which features industrial sites off in the distance and a small man made step fall. Shots then capture the Ouse around Lendal Bridge, York, and the river is clearly high, flooding some of the surrounding area. A panning view shows a flooded rural area, with trees protruding from the water's surface. A measuring stick is fixed in the water, demonstrating that the river level is up to 11 inches. A road sign sticking out of the water reads, 'Speed limit 5 M.P.H. - danger submerged water main'. The following sequence shows more of the submerged rural landscape as dusk arrives. A close up captures a chart that plots the River Ouse's water levels (1969); the chart is currently in the November field which shows a rather severe peak. Next, the filmmaker captures the areas surround the Ouse which are no longer submerged, and several shots show the banks of the river clearly visible. The filmmaker then captures some of the wildlife that inhabit the area; birds flying along the banks, ducks pruning themselves in the river, and a moorhen walking about. The final sequence begins a group of male students arriving on bicycles, and cycling along the banks of the river. They then stop and do some bird watching using binoculars, with the filmmaker showing some of the wildlife they are interested in. The film concludes with a shot of a flock of birds taking flight.