Ross-on-Wye DCNN 4882 – Beautifully presented but….not quite right.

51.91115 -2.58578 Met Office Assessed CIMO Class 5 and Satisfactory Installed 1/1/1914

It is always very useful to get current real world imagery of sites and I am very grateful to Phil Marshall who put the effort in supplying the following photographs for me. This is what the site looks like now from its front view.

Ross-on Wye site is an example of very many fine “Municipal” sites usually originally funded by grants from local benefactors. They are nearly always very well maintained with civic pride and well equipped as is evidenced above. Wind, rain and sunshine recording is equally important to temperature readings for weather reporting and the tower is especially impressive in this case. Contrast this with the likes of Llanwddyn:Cwm Cownwy.

This is clearly a well cared for site….but although this seems somewhat churlish to say, it is also in meteorological terms rather poor. Phil’s images offer a more detailed look at the orientation issues.

The opening of Stevenson Screens is to the north facing side which is also evidenced as the higher end of the sloping roof. Google aerial images (which automatically orientate north/south) also confirm the screen opening end. So to the north we have an over 2 metre high dense hedge and the rather elegant tower steps plus a beautifully manicured shrub to the north east – not quite in the meteorologists handbook.

The view to the east includes another high hedge, more shrubbery and even an outbuilding housing power supplies and other sensors.

The tower is very impressive indeed – but all that metal and paving is not the best close accompaniment for accurate temperature recording. The view from the south west (from where the prevailing winds will regularly blow) demonstrates how the surrounding hedging will hold in warmer air and reduce night time temperature falling away.

All in all, Ross-on-Wye is a very attractive site and well cared for in a material sense. It just seems rather a pity that the surroundings have been allowed to cause such problems – the close by road and artificial surface courts would always ensure this would never make Class 1 but it could possibly manage an almost acceptable Class 3 without the overbearing foliage. After all, how is this deemed significantly worse than Heathrow and its blast screening?

Many thanks to Phil for these excellent photos and attention to detail. If anyone else wishes to supply images, all will be gratefully received as they always help. Pop a note in comments if you can help – thanks.