We don’t seem to get much snow in southern Britain these days and, when we do, it never seems to stay for long. I try not to miss the opportunity to photograph it when it happens.
The chance comes surprisingly early this year as late October brings a fleeting snowfall, covering the hills for a couple of hours.
Abandoning the car on the increasingly icy road up to Trannon Moor—mainly because it isn’t mine and I don’t fancy the idea of stuffing it into a ditch—I continue the journey on foot. A couple of sets of wheel tracks up to the windfarm offices but after that I’m really out on my own. It feels like a different world, and I don’t completely recognise it.
I love the way snow can transform a landscape. The rest of the world now seems a long way away, separated by layers of silence. I’ve visited the moor on many occasions but I’m especially glad to have made the effort this morning.
Experience tells me to work quickly and two hours later I’m on my way back to the car, the snow dropping from the trees, the lane slushy and running in water. It’s 9 o’clock, another hour and this magical landscape will have gone as quickly as it came.
