Benvironment

0.8C and snowing here. Shame it's gonna be brief.

What a stunning winter's day it's been in the kingdom I was gonna head north to the deeper snow but given the light overnight falls in Fife I opted to stay put, and instead made three visits to the Ballo. It was cloudy first thing but cleared up nicely: Down on the ice it looked more like a big salt flat! But I didn't walk out too far. Thankfully the previous few days, with no snow on the loch, had clearly shown where the safe spots were. A return visit for sunset, and it's been a while since I've seen it looking like this. It froze over in March but there was no sunshine then. And even after the sun had set....the light show continued A lovely day!

Looks like PROPER winter up there. The only time I've been up Fyrish was on a Mothers' Day I think, with blue skies and sunshine and it was utterly utterly mobbed. I had no idea it was so popular locally Beautiful spot.

Heaviest snow of the winter so far here....which isn't saying much tbh. Not even 1cm yet though.

And there is The most beautiful, light, vertical, slow and sparkly snowfall

Today in Glen Coe with Lochaber & Lorn Ramblers. Utterly.....UTTERLY.....A W E S O M E !!!!!! This country really knows how to pull out the stops........from time to time

Always makes me nervous when folk head into the snowy lane to overtake. Who knows if they have winter tyres, and even that's no guarantee they'll stay on the road

Oh my life what an awesome snowy day!!! First thing......down to see how the Ballo is freezing over. It's getting there, but even the light snow on West Lomond looked the part: Then home for breakfast, and then up East Lomond. I should have been driving north but given how rare snow has been in Fife this season it seemed bonkers not to partake: The difference between high and low was really apparent from up there too: And then off up north past THAT hill: A quick stop in THAT glen: And a nose at the snow conditions higher up, for tomorrow's walk: Then down to Ballachulish for dinner: Even bad winters can have their moments

Oh and when I inadvertently startled that pair of red grouse....clearly I'd interrupted one of them giving the other a lesson on what the jetstream is doing.

Well a tidy 1cm up here, which looks like it'll hang around cos it's been very murky since it fell and we're only at 0.7C. While it's nice to have sunshine after a snowfall I do like the moodiness that murk brings On the hill path there was this lovely imprint of where a red grouse took off. Again, murky up top....and for a while it looked like it might clear completely but after 40 mins standing around waiting I gave up .....but not before leaving something behind

Well that was a nice surprise. About 1cm here and falling steady.

You beat me to it

Just not our year is it?

Gawd I couldn't believe it when I stepped outside, rounded the house and got hit by that wind. I ran back inside and grabbed another layer!

Some musings on the winter walking season so far from a winter walker's perspective. Bit of a moan to be honest, but the walk up a very sunny, very snowy Ben Venue that day did go some way to pushing the malaise away The one good thing to come from it all though, is having been utterly starved of snowy walks, even on the highest hills, I finally understand how the rest of the country must feel in the darker months Onwards and upwards into Feb!!!

2.6C here with a bit of snow blowing in the wind, nothing lying though. I can see the Pentlands and Moorfoots from here and there’s no snow there either.

<raises his Fifer hand>

Ugh, nightmare! For some baffling reason I just bought a white car and I'm already regretting it

YAY!!!! Thanks

Oooooooh.........okay let me try inserting a pic here...... ......using the method you suggest.

Thanks for that, got me thinking I think those first light dustings in autumn are the most photogenic as they tend to end with a clearly traceable line along a contour, which allows for the reds and the browns to come through between the glen and the snow line and, like you say, highlight the relief of the hillside (see pics of Beinn Ghlas, the Bealach na Ba and Coigach). Can't beat a massive snowy arete borne of relentless storms though. That winter of 13/14, while giving hardly any walkable days, certainly left quite the spectacle (see very snowy pic of Sgurr Choinnich Mor) BTW - How do you choose how to insert piccies into the body of the text? Didn't there used to be a kind of 'insert here' option or am I just going senile?

Aww, shame Sadly just goes to show how 'cosmetic' last week's snow was.

It's up on Ben Venue in the Trossachs. More snow up above 600m than I was expecting tbh, so trailbreaking was periodically horrendous......but of course, wonderful at the same time

It had a more alpine feel today, what with very cold drive to Loch Achray and then t-shirt weather by 11am......albeit still subzero. Just awesome

FINALLY!!!!!!!!