Proper Winter

The UK enjoyed a real burst of wintry weather at the end of January.  We took advantage of a clear, cold (-7c) morning to get out locally, early, ahead of a trip South to visit friends in the North of England.   We decided on the local NTS Pineapple as it has a small river, an orchard, and in theory has a walk around and about too:

We managed to miss the walk, getting a little lost but still enjoyed exploring the adjacent woodland in the rising morning sunshine:

It stayed very cold in even in the light:

Ice covered trees against the morning sky:

And a frozen teasel:

It wasn't as cold as the hoarfrost we encountered a few years ago in Northampton, that was -17c, so a long way still to go, but we do love the distinct seasons here in Scotland.

At the end of our meander the last field was host to a large flock of geese.   Our presence put them to flight, i took a snap anyway and was surprised to see a hare run into the composition as i took the picture:

From the Pineapple we headed down to visit our friends Gavin and Belinda who live in Grisdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.  We arrived in time to drop our car in a layby before being driven in their AWD and 4x4 up to their home.   We dropped bags, met the dogs and then headed out for a walk. 

I soon regretted not having picked-up my camera, but the phone did a good enough job of capturing the rosy hue of the sky and it's reflection in the burn:

Glorious colours.   We enjoyed catching-up that evening and then headed out again bright and early the following morning, taking in the sunset as the temperature rose towards about -4c, still pretty frisky!

The two dogs were enjoying their first snows, this is Bruichladdich running through the snow having been rummaging for something beforehand:

We had a walk into the adjacent plantation in deep snow before lunch and then out again mid-afternoon for a longer walk with the dogs.   The conditions were perfect, lying snow, a below freezing temperature and no breeze to speak of, magic:

The local farm animals were clustered around food supplies.  It took a while to get all the sheep looking the same way, but we managed it:

The landscape around their home is rugged and stunning, with hills, rivers, tumbledown buildings, etc:

We headed back in around sunset as the dying light lit-up another of the small waterways:

That night we stepped out as the temperature fell towards -9c to observe the core of the milky way, just visible with the naked eye, directly overhead.   It's a magic spot, though too cut-off from the rest of the world for us we can see why it suits them.   

Then it was time to head back to our home, through a little more snow and then a lot more rain.