Snow Is Falling...

Yes, today saw the first snowfall of Winter 09/10 in Houghton-Le-Spring. It was an on-off affair during the early hours and that trend continued through the rest of the day. I was up bright and early for the school run as my annual Christmas holidays started a couple of days early. Once the little fella was safely into school I headed over to Penshaw, which was only a ten minute drive. My intention was to visit Penshaw Monument for the umpteenth time this year, but this time I was after those elusive snow scene shots that I've always managed to miss. Work and other commitments have denied me bagging this type of shot down the years but hopefully that was all about to change.

There was a fair covering of snow, not too deep, but enough to offer a photographer a chance to grab some nice shots. When I reached the monument I immediately parked up next to the gate at the foot of the hill. Just then, a stroke of luck! The sun suddenly lifted above the low cloud cover on the horizon and threw some great light across Penshaw Hill and it's monument. Time to set my idle hands to work. I knew I was onto something good when the backdrop to the monument started to clear and blue sky appeared with its picturesque fluffy white clouds. This was just what I wanted and although the light changed for the worst after only a few minutes, I was confident I'd finally captured my first snow scenes at Penshaw Hill.

I made the short walk through the gate and into the nearby field where cattle were grazing. They were obviously used to people as they seemed more than comfortable in my presence.

Having said that, I was standing literally a few feet away from a bull that was rather scarey with those sharp horns so I didn't hang around for too long. I think it's known in the trade as 'Your arse falling out'. Aye, that was me away and back in the car in no time.

It seemed like an age since I was last out with my camera. Too much work and no play makes AC a dull boy!

Oh well, until the next time...

Ash