ghostdog19 said:
QuaziWashboard said:
BTW, hares can move using a walking gait, (although they tend not to when moving quickly) but not rabbits. That's one of the main differentiating features between them.
Aha!!! Hares and rabbits... as common a mistake as calling monkeys and apes etc, or calling a person from Lancaster a Yorkshireman
So are we ruling out Hare's too?
Maybe there was a tortoise involved and it was a race?
:lol:
Well, as I said, hares
can walk with a standard gait but only do so occasionaly and when they do it's a slow way for them to move. I suppose it's possible that one decided to keep up this unusual manner of walking for 80 miles or so,
if there was maybe something physicaly wrong and then
if something had happened to make it decide to travel so far away from it's normal territory, which is highly unusual behaviour in itself, but I can't see one covering this distance, moving in this way, in the time span given.
Anyway, here's the latest reply from the Met office about the weather at the time.
Hello again,
I have consulted the Private Weather Diary that we hold for Exmouth to find the information you were looking for.
The entries for 6th - 9th February 1855 were as follows:
6th Feb
It was a frosty day with some snowfall mixed with rain. There was a north easterly moderate wind. Temperatures were recorded as 36F (2C) at 9am; 37F (2-3C) at 3pm and 34F (1C) at 9pm. The mean average temperature was given as 35.5F (1-2C).
7th Feb
A cloudy day with some rain. A moderate north easterly wind. Temperatures of 39F (4C) at 9am; 36F (2C) at 3pm and 32F (0C) at 9pm. The mean average temperature was 34F (1C).
8th Feb
Snow showers, but with some rain as well. North easterly, moderate wind. Temperatures of 29F (-1C) at 9am; 32F (0C) at 3pm and 27F (-2C) at 9pm. The mean average was given as 29F (-1C).
9th Feb
Cloudy with some rain. A high wind during the morning. An east, north east strong/brisk wind. Temperatures were recorded as 32F (0C) at 9am; 32F (0C) at 3pm and 28F (-1 to -2C) at 9pm. Mean average temperature of 30F (-1C).
Sadly, there is no mention of fog on these days. However, the 5th saw a foggy morning and it was bitterly cold. There is no mention of snowfall during the 5th, but there had been some snowfall earlier in the week (2nd) and so there may still have been some ground coverage by the 5th (although I am afraid that there is no way of knowing for certain).
I hope this new information helps.
Kind Regards,
Kate Strachan
Assistant Archivist
Kate also asked me to put a link to the Met Office web site on here in return for the info, so here it is.
National Meteorological Library & Archive webpages:
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/library
So, it's still a possibility that on the morning that the footprints turned up in Lympstone, there
may have been a fog for a hoaxer to work under, but it's by no means a definate. Still, a decent snow fall can obscure the sight almost as good as fog, but then if you were leaving footprints in such conditions, they wouldn't last very long.
It's interesting to note how much rain there was at the time too, looking at the information, you wouldn't think there'd be much snow left around at the time, but then, today's snow doesn't seem to fall as heavily, or last as long as it used to do.