- The Shipping Forecast began life exactly 150 years ago, on 24 August 1867, and was originally a series of telegraph messages sent to harbour towns to warn of impending storms. There had been some efforts to predict and warn about incoming weather via scientific means before this – pioneered by Robert FitzRoy (on whom more below) following a catastrophic storm in 1859 that killed 800 mariners off the coast of Wales. Sadly, FitzRoy didn’t live to see his ideas become a permanent fixture of British life: he killed himself in 1865, in part because of his frustration at failing to set up a regular service.
- The Shipping Forecast started up on radio in 1924, when the Air Ministry started broadcasting its weather shipping programme, using 13 maritime zones, twice daily on the Home Service. It was suspended during the Second World War, but was relaunched in 1949.
- There are now 31 zones, which are given out in strict order, beginning at Viking in the north-east bordering Norway, and proceeding in a clockwise direction round the British Isles.
- Only seven areas survive from the original list: Forties, Humber, Dogger, Thames, Wight, Shannon and Hebrides. Minches was absorbed into Hebrides in 1983; North and South Utsire were added in 1984;and, in 2002, Finisterre became FitzRoy (named for pioneering meteorologist Admiral Robert FitzRoy. The change provoked an outcry, but the accolade is justified: FitzRoy was a fascinating figure, captain of HMS Beagle on which Charles Darwin sailed to South America, and the man who made accurate weather forecasting possible – and who started up what has now morphed into the Met Office.
- The 0048 broadcast is preceded by Sailing By, Ronald Binge’s mellow strings arrangement, partly to helpseamen tune in, and it concludes with the National Anthem.
- Good, moderate and poor refer to visibility; veering indicates that the wind is changing in a clockwise direction; backing means anti-clockwise.
- The most severe storm forecast in recent memory was read on January 10, 1993:‘Rockall, Malin, Hebrides, Bailey. South west hurricane force 12 or more.’ Many announcers work for a decade or longer before having to put out an 11 (violent storm) or 12 (gale strength).
- Prime cod-fishing ground, Dogger Bank (its name comes from the Dutch ‘dogger’, or fishing vessel) is a 160-mile long mass of underwater sand dunes, some of which are as tall as Nelson’s Column.
- The dangerous waters around the Farne Islands conceal many wrecks, including the Somali, a steamship bombed in1941. The north and north-east Norfolk coast (Humber/Thames) holds some 225 wrecks, including HMS Umpire, a Second World War submarine lying 65ft deep 12 miles off Blakeney Point.
- More wrecks lie on Goodwin Sands off Kent (near Dover), a 10-mile long series of underwater dunes and banks, a hazard for shipping for centuries. Forty miles north of Anglesey is one of the least accessible wrecks, the steamship Liverpool, sunk by a mine in 1916.
150 years of the Shipping Forecast: The magic and poetry of Dogger, Fisher and German Bight
-
This house in glorious technicolour is the perfect antidote for the grey days of a British winter — so why don't more of us live in brightly coloured homes?It's not often that you see a home sporting the colour palette that you'd get if you hired a four-year old as your interior designer. But why not? The Blue House in Bethnal Green asks this and many more questions.
-
How common are you according to Nicky Haslam? Take our quizToday's quiz takes a detailed look at Nicky Haslam's annual list of things he finds common, and sells on a Christmas tea towel for £50.
-
The golden retriever: The world’s most likeable dog almost didn’t exist at allThey’ve been popping up everywhere this week — on the Tube, at Christmas parties and in the news — so it feels like the perfect moment to talk about the dog breed we’re lucky to have.
-
In search of London’s earliest pintEarly houses — pubs open in the early hours to feed and water the market trade — have been a cornerstone of London for centuries. Yet, as Will Hosie finds, they aren’t stuck in the past.
-
Aristotle believed they emerged spontaneously from mud, Sigmund Freud dissected thousands of them and they can dive lower than a nuclear submarine — but what is the truth about the eel?It would seem the European eel has a long way to go to win hearts, Laura Parker says of the slippery animal with an unfortunate image problem.
-
The Alpine rescue dog built for blizzards, bred by monksAs snow fell across the UK this week, I found myself day-dreaming of St Bernards striding through the Alps — a snow-day dog worth celebrating.
-
Better than Ozempic? 50 years of the Brompton bicycleOwen Wilson, James May and most of the middle-aged men and condescending hipsters you know love them. As the iconic folding bike turns 50 Lotte Brundle hops on one with the company's CEO.
-
No more froths, no more foams, no more tweezers. Classic dining is making a comeback. Thank godFrom prawn cocktail and Arctic roll to starched tablecloths and ‘nicotine cream’ on the walls, it’s out with the new and in with the old in the restaurant world
-
'It is hard to beat the excitement of watching a peregrine you have trained stoop from 1,000ft, going more than 100mph' — the complicated world of falconryA combination of spellbinding sport and profound empathetic connection, falconry–a partnership in which the bird maintains the upper hand–offers a window into ‘the deeper magic’.
-
What is everyone talking about this week: More than half the country owns a pet and nearly half our marriages end in divorce — no wonder pet-nups are on the risePet-nups, a formal agreement between couples over what should happen to their pets in the event of a split, are on the rise.
