The Big Thaw.

Well winter certainly went out with a bang this year. The Beast From The East hit us a couple of weeks ago and boy did it hit hard. With the wind chill factor added, the temperature dropped to -13 degrees and I don't think my part of the country had it the worst by any means. The North East, Cumbria and The Scottish Borders were devastated by it. This was the first occasion that I felt comfortable enough top take the car on to the higher roads in The Yorkshire Dales.

I started off in cloudy weather in Wharfedale and stopped for my customary coffee at Kilnsey Trout Farm before heading up over Kidstone Bank and into Wensleydale. A short stop in West Burton followed so I could take some photos of Cauldron Falls and then it was on to Hawes for a wander around and some lunch.

I decided to head back down by going over Fleet Moss but this proved to be a big mistake as there was just too much snow still hanging around at the higher levels to do it safely. Up there the snow was getting much deeper plus the higher I went, the channel through it got much narrower. So much so that if I had met any traffic coming the opposite way, there wouldn't have been any room to turn or pull in. Plus I had no indication of how clear it would have been at the very top and how good the conditions were on the downward drive in to Langstrothdale.

Being sensible for a change, I parked up and took some photos looking across to Dodd Fell and down on Wensleydale and then did a ten point turn and came back down to Hawes to start again! This time I took the safe option and took the main road to Ribblehead which I was confident would be clear. Lo and behold the sun came out and I managed to get some lovely shots of the limestone scenery of both the Three Peaks and Littondale areas.

It was a long day and a long drive but it felt good to be out again plus I was well rewarded with the variety of the photos the changing weather enabled me to take. I hope you enjoy them.