The boundaried landscape
Am I being kept in? Or out?
Am I being kept in? Or out?
Following on from the fresh, vibrant colours of a Spring Dene and the earth-coloured russets, purples and reds of an autumn Dene it was time for a walk in the muted, monochromes of a winter Crawley Dene today.
Inevitably after the recent snow in the valley and the snow around Hedgeley Lake, there was going to be a thawing. And that began yesterday.
When out on my once-a-day-exercise (how many times can I say, ‘Déja vu’?) yesterday, I attempted to walk along the course of the Pow Burn and on to Hedgeley Lakes. However, the rapid melting of the ice and snow led to the Pow Burn overflowing its banks and blocking off the path.
Having seen the snow on them ‘ills a few days ago, followed by the frozen Branton lakes, it was fairly inevitable that the snow would reach the valley floor. And, sure enough, we all awoke yesterday to a carpet of snow all across north Northumberland.
There was a thin covering of snow along the Breamish Valley yesterday that quickly turned to ice in the just-below-zero temperatures. This made for some striking photos while on my walk around Branton Lakes Nature Reserve.
Well…it’s that déjà vu feeling again, isn’t it? Exercising in the lockdowns – still, I do keep reminding myself how lucky we are to live in such beautiful surroundings.
And, as I mentioned a couple of days ago, the light at this time of the year is pretty terrific – changing from moment to moment.
Following the recent ice day in the Breamish Valley and the suggestion of another Beast from the East, there was still some snow capping the Cheviots yesterday despite the temperatures having increased slightly.
The start of a new (and hopefully much brighter and happier) year brought a cold snap to the valley. Temperatures were below freezing and the Met office was suggesting the possibility of a new Beast from the East later in the month. The original Beast from the East hit us in March 2018, when the whole of the Breamish Valley was knee-deep in snow. Well, we didn’t have to deal with that yesterday but it was cold enough to begin freezing the lakes.
Not a lot to be said, really…2020 has been unprecedented.
But now with the positive news of vaccines against coronavirus starting to be rolled out, there’s good reason to hope for a happier 2021.
However you celebrate the Christmas season, songs and carols are such a staple. We hear them on the radio, as background music in shops, rousingly played by brass bands in our streets, and on the tinkling pianos and other instruments that our children and grandchildren are learning to play. And we would have enjoyed singing them as a local community around the Christmas tree such as Powburn’s Community Garden.
The British Library is preserving this site for the future in the UK Web Archive at www.webarchive.org.uk