It’s the 3rd of April today, yet the heavy snowfall of the weekend before last (eleven days ago!) is still very evident in the hill country. It’s blown and melted from the more open ground, but it’s deep amongst the heather and gorse, and some substantial drifts remain. The (very) minor road south from The Bog is blocked below The Rock.

It knocked us off our planned course too – very slightly. We were intending to arrive back at the Bog Centre in time for refreshments, and they would close at 5pm. Time was getting tight by the time we’d walked our way round to The Rock, and progress along the ridge (the preferred route) would have been slow and laborious given the depth of snow. So we walked along the road instead – much quicker, and we were able to say hello to the llamas along the way…

An Easter Sunday walk from Benthall Hall, Shropshire. We may have put the clocks forward, but it’s still winter time here. Last weekend’s snowfall was the heaviest for many years – and though it’s cleared from the roads, there’s still plenty in the fields, and some of the paths are not easily walked. The air’s cold – the snow is melting, but not very quickly. Some of the drifts were deep – it must have been tricky this time last week.

It’s the highest point (577m or 1893 feet) of the line of hills north of the Dee, between Llangollen and Carrog. Yesterday’s walk took us from the Ponderosa, at the top of the Horseshoe Pass, along the ridge to the col between Moel y Gamelin and Moel y Gaer, then back along a path following the contours back round towards the slate workings. Paths are not clear here – we ended up on the wrong side of the quarries, but managed to find a way back round. Moel y Gamelin must be a tremendous viewpoint on a clear day…