Open Country - The New Face of the Clyde

The people of Cumbria are embarking on the massive clean-up operation after record rainfall and devastating floods over the past days. But flooding has become an all too familiar experience across the UK. In this week's Open Country Matt Baker heads to Glasgow to explore the River Clyde. The waters of its White Cart tributary can rise by 20 feet in less than 12 hours. It's flooded significantly 20 times in the last century and Matt meets residents who have given up barricading the doors and accept living upstairs until floodwaters recede. But a massive engineering project is now underway to reduce the likelihood of flooding. Matt finds out where the water will go and just how the surrounding wildlife will be affected. Matt also explores the changing face of the Clyde. Traditionally it's been seen as an exit point from Glasgow. The massive shipbuilding industry and the docks meant both the ships and their goods left from the city. For Glasweigians too they headed to the river only to go on their holidays 'doon the watter' to the seaside. But now the image of the river is changing. Shipbuilding has declined so industry's dominance of the waterside has waned. 1.5 billion pounds has been invested to regenerate the Clyde and residents and visitors are being encouraged to rediscover it as a destination in itself. Matt Baker jumps aboard one of the new riverboat tours to see the city from a new perspective and see how tradition and the new wave of business and leisure sit side by side.