What Winter should look like!

I know it’s a bit early to be talking about winter – the council hasn’t even got the Christmas lights up in town yet! But let’s face it, unless Mother Nature has some sort of miracle up her sleeve, this summer is going to have been a wash-out. An Indian summer might just rescue it from being a total failure, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for it. Instead I’m looking forward to winter.

I’ve pulled the winter pack out from the kit cupboard under the stairs and I stuck the flask in the dishwasher this morning after finding a new life form had evolved in the bottom since I last used it (some sort of lentil soup-based organism I think). My mind turned to some of the best winter walks I’ve done and I pulled out some old photos to highlight them.

This is what winter 2009 is going to look like – fingers crossed!

This is the trig point on Red Screes in the Lakes. The wind had blown the most fantastic frost patterns onto the pillar and the surrounding rocks. This wasn’t the best day to be walking in fact, the wind was blowing a force niner and the clouds were down, but even so it was a great summit.

This is Tex Gore approaching Fairfield from St. Sunday Crag – we had some splendid winter walking on this day, with spells of bright sunshine, occasionally obscured by scudding cloud. The summit was windy again, but we were well prepared.

This photo was taken early one morning in Tatton Park in Knutsford. Although the day started out misty like this, that is always a good sign that the day will be fine and sunny. The frost was hard on the ground, but it was completely still, not a breath of wind. A great early morning walk.

I captured this frozen waterfall as I descended from the path that lies between Crinkle Crags and Pike of Bliscoe. I’d walked along Crinkle Crags that morning with some stunning frozen views – not much snow, but it was frosty and clear and a perfect, non-technical, winter walk.

The frost patterns on these grasses must have built up over a number of days. These were found on the way up Dow Crag, from the Walna Scar Road, during one of the coldest walks I’ve ever done. I set out very early for a December morning – about 07:00 and it was still full dark. By 09:00 I was covered in frost myself – my legs and jacket and pack were all dusted with frost.