Tag Archives: snow

Let it snow…

05 Sunday Jan 2025

Posted by in Musings, Photography, Weather, West Yorkshire

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The snow that had been predicted to fall yesterday arrived with a vengeance overnight. When we opened the bedroom blinds this morning we were treated to the sight of a white-out. The whole valley had disappeared under a blanket of snow which left the world eerily quiet as hardly anything motorised could move.

Later, having fortified myself with coffee I ventured out with the camera to get a few pictures. Firstly, I checked the depth of the snow on our front garden wall.

13cm. But in many places the snow had drifted and was even deeper, getting up to 20cm.

Whilst Dawn stayed in the warm I went for a wander around where we lived before the snow dropped off the trees. We’re surrounded by woodland, which makes for lovely pictures in these conditions. Here’s a selection…

It’s a brave (or stupid) motorist who ventures out in these conditions. Our road became a reserve for walkers rather than cars. All you had to watch out for was snow bombs as the tree branches shed their loads.
Local footpaths became the reserve of foxes and badgers, the only ones who left tracks.
Looking down a cold Calder valley towards Sowerby Bridge which is hidden in the murk in the valley below.
Looking up at the Wainhouse Tower past telephone lines which have quadrupled in prominence due to the snow clinging to them. Telegraph poles and wires in the air is still very much a thing in this neck of the woods.
The walk to our local pub (The Big 6) is up this cobbled road called Wakefield Gate. Today it was reserved for walkers as it was too steep and slippery for vehicles. This featured in the opening credits for the TV series ‘Gentlemen Jack’. I’d hoped to have got some evening shots here but the snow turned to rain.

The pair of us did venture out into the valley bottom for a stroll along the canal to Sowerby Bridge in the early afternoon but by then temperatures had risen enough that we had persistent rain which was gradually turning the snow into slush. I’d half-hoped to be able to get some pictures of local trains in the snow, but conditions were so bad all rail services through the Calder Valley were suspended, so there was nothing left to do but go for a pint and a warm in the Hogshead Brew House before slipping and sliding our way uphill to home. Water was running down the roads in torrents as the rain continued to melt the snow, making it an ‘interesting’ walk to say the least. Thankfully, there were few cars on the roads, which were a far safer place to walk than the slush-covered, treacherous pavements. Even so, we were soaked by the time we got home. The forecast had been for more heavy snow, but here, the difference in height by a few meters and temperature by one degree can make all the difference – which makes predicting the weather so difficult. I wouldn’t be the least surprised to find that snow’s falling just another 100-150 meters above where we live.

Now it’s time for a quiet night in. Dawn’s cooking a veggie Sunday dinner whilst I’m writing this. After which, it’s time to sort out and book for our next adventure, to somewhere far more exotic – and warm. Watch this space…

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312

16th January picture(s) of the day…

16 Tuesday Jan 2024

Posted by in Calder Valley, Photography, Picture of the day, Railways, West Yorkshire

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Well. I didn’t have this on my bingo card when I pulled open the bedroom blinds this morning!

We weren’t meant to be having snow until late in the day and even then it was meant to be mixed with rain. Instead, we had rather a nice dusting of the white stuff. Well, at least at our height. The valley floor didn’t get the same treatment. This was rather frustrating as I’d several hours work planned this morning which I couldn’t get out of so by the time I did get to don my waterproofs (more to keep the freezing wind out than anything else) the snow had already begun to recede, despite the low temperatures. Working on the old axiom of ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ I caught a train West to Todmorden, working on the assumption that as the weather was coming from that direction I’d be likely to find more snow. Sure enough, there was more on the ground, even though it still wasn’t exactly ‘deep and crisp and even’. I went for a hike from Tod’ station along footpaths well gritted backroads to Gauxholme, between Tod’ and Walsden then slipped and slid my way uphill to a site that’s one of my favourite locations in the valley. Here’s why…

195005 leads 195019 through Gauxholme whilst working 1J19, the 14:12 Leeds to Manchester Victoria.

I stayed long enough to get several shots but by 15:00 the snow was coming in again from the West and the wind was perishing! Besides, there’s only so many permutations of this shot you can take. Walking downhill with the camera bag on my back was more difficult than ascending. I was kicking myself for not bringing my walking poles but I managed to make it down without going arse over tit. Maybe we’ll get a thicker covering of snow later in the year. Maybe not, but at least I’ve finally got a snow shot from Gauxholme.

Now I’m back home taking it easy for the evening, feeling virtuous as not only do have some useful pictures, I’ve smashed all my exercise targets to boot. Still, it’s strange to think that this time last year I was doing anything *but* freezing. I’d already been in SE-Asia for a week and had just arrived in Kuala Lumpur.

I won’t be venturing out of the valley tomorrow. I’ve too much to sort out in readiness for what’s going to be a hectic time next week as I’ll be doing a lot of travelling with many different events to blog about. But for now, it’s time to say goodnight.

I’ve a small favour to ask…
If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website –  https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/

Or – you can now buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/paulbigland68312