The picturesque St Bertrand river that encircles the new recreational lakes of the same name, runs through our village and is fundamental to daily life here.

Usually tranquil, it typically has very little water in it and what is there meanders quietly down through the village, under the pedestrian bridge and the ford below it. In the heavier rains it floods the ford and is unpassable, but runs strong within the bounds of its low banks.

We are among a few that have a well in our garden, set up by previous owners, able to draw on this freely available source to water the allotments or, in our case these days, to fill the immediate neighbours’ pool in the summer.

The downside of being at the bottom of a village on a river is being close to the action in any heavy rain. We know from the council plans that came with our purchase agreement that we are on the outer fringes of area at risk of flooding, but were reassured by neighbours that no floods in living memory had ever reached the house.

That is still the case, but last November we awoke in New Zealand to an email from our house guests with the terrifying one-word subject line: flooding! You can imagine where our minds went before we dared to open the email.

In fact, the historic flooding caused a dozen deaths elsewhere in the Aude, so with the garden turned into a mere metre-high lake and the house water tight, we were relatively fortunate.

The surrounding allotments bordering the river were devastated, buried under a wave of water and mud that barrelled down the riverbed under sheets of rain. Neighbours lost garden equipment and sheds toppled, their trampoline found in pieces three metres up a tree downstream. Our bordering hedge was flattened. Our lawn was strewn with debris, the carefully dug gardens buried in river mud.

Arriving in December, the ravages were evident in a short walk along the river banks. The course of the river has altered in many places, banks are torn, riverside gardens have been halved, large river stones are littered across lawns, hay bales entwined in the remains of trees. A lot of cleaning up has already been done, and much work remains.

Still, nature will ensure that things bounce back here in time, and the riverside remains a beautiful place for a wander, whatever the weather.