It’s still cold though – below freezing all afternoon on the south Shropshire hills. Nice light for a stroll at the southern end of the Stiperstones ridge

   

   

Boxing Day – a walk around the Shrewsbury riverside, beside the frozen waters of the Severn. I’m not sure how thick the ice was – there was open water in places – but elsewhere the ice went right across the river – a sight I’ve not seen before.

   

   

   

Not much – perhaps another inch or two. With the snow that fell a few days ago, it was deep in the fields – more than six inches. A clear sunny afternoon was forecast – I thought perhaps I’d better get into position with the camera. It didn’t happen – the sky gradually cleared as the sun dropped, so it never actually shone. Nice light though…

   

   

   

   

Friday was bright, feeling pleasant in the sunshine – good to be out. However, In the early hours of Sunday morning, the lowest temperature in the UK was recorded by the Met. Office at Shawbury, Shropshire – a minimum of –19.6°C. That’s around 15 miles away. It didn’t feel much less cold (I don’t think it was…) when we had a wander in the snow after lunch. At least there was no wind.

Friday

   

Sunday

   

   

   

Ice floes on the river Severn at Ironbridge – haven’t seen ice like this on the river since the early 80s

   

   

   

   

The car said it was -3°C, when I left it below the Gaer Stone. Unlike yesterday’s calm, there was a strong northerly wind. I don’t know what the effective temperature was with the wind chill factor, and I was well wrapped, but I can’t remember it feeling so cold anywhere for a long time…

   

   

   

   

   

   

Today’s forecast was for freezing fog, lasting most of the day. There were one or two wisps around, briefly – but for most of the day the sun shone from a clear blue sky. Very cold though – the met office says it was -9°C at 9.00am, and it rose by 1° each hour to 3.00pm. I don’t think it’s still rising though…