A snowy afternoon walk from the cottage.

Catcliffe woods, start of the walk, next to the cottage where we live.

We set off towards Over Haddon, passing the quietest place in Bakewell, the cemetery.
The snow was lovely and 'creaky/crunchy' in the fields.
It was an absolute joy to walk in.

The sky, which was a little grey when we set off,
was now clearing nicely, with a peep of low sun to go with it.

Looking over the snowy fields towards Haddon.

Sue, enjoying the snow.

Unsurprisingly, we saw little traffic on the back roads.
This is what roads were like before gritting!

We left the road quite quickly, and crossed a stile into the fields towards Over Haddon.

This is the stile to the Lathkill dale Hotel.
We didn't have time for a lunchtime drink today though,
this was the shortest day of the year, and we'd set off walking late.

We walked through the picturesque village of Over Haddon, and wound down the icy road to Lathkill dale.
This dale is always beautiful, but today it was even better, with the snow.

The old clapper bridge across the river Lathkill.

Even dead plants were given a new lease of life with the snow.
Some of them even prettier than when they flowered normally.

The berries too, with a crown of snow.

This one looked like the birds were getting hungry -

they only eat these berries as a last resort!

The snow hung on the branches as though it was stitched there.

As we continued on through Lathkill dale, the watery sunshine
lit up the dale, making it look almost sepia.

Even my old friend, the fungi, was having to put up with the big freeze.

We joined the road again to walk to Youlgreave.

The sun was getting lower now, as we looked across the fields, and the temperature was dropping,
but there was still one particular photo I wanted to capture before sunset.

The sheep don't look half as white when they are in a field of pristine snow.

And this was it! A great scene in any weather (some of you may know this shot - it's one of my favourites)
The little track up to Youlgreave from Bradford dale. It looks super with a blue sky and fluffy
white clouds, but just as good with a mantle of snow.

Looking back up Bradford dale.

We then crossed back into Lathkill dale, and walked up to Raper bridge.
We then crossed the bridge and fields, and re-joined our morning path to take us back home,
with a steady dusk falling, and an interesting sky to keep us company.