It’s not got above freezing for several days. My garden and drive face almost due North, and the thin covering of snow that fell overnight on Friday hasn’t melted – in fact, it’s frozen solid. At least I can tell that the insulation in my loft is doing its job, as my roof is still covered in snow. However, the roads are well-gritted and clear, and there’s absolutely no sign of frost in town, or indeed at work which is at the foot of the hills. Once again, I’m well above the snow line!
I went up on British Camp for a walk after work this afternoon. It was bitterly cold, and the north-facing slopes were still frozen solid. I had my walking boots on, but really needed crampons – it was so icy that I slipped on the slope at the centre back of the picture above, and slid down the path on my backside! As I did so, I looked up and saw the Air Ambulance circling overhead. Not for me, I hasten to add. But pretty much as soon as I’d got to my feet and moved away, it came in to land. Clearly, I wasn’t the only person to slip on the icy paths this afternoon. Someone had fallen down the earthworks and done themselves a mischief. An ambulance had been called and was sitting in the car park at the bottom of the hill, but it was too dangerous to get the casualty down there on a stretcher – hence the need for the air ambulance to evacuate them from the top of the hill.
I didn’t hang around to watch the rescue, as that seemed rather voyeuristic. Besides, I wanted to get back safely home before the sun went down and it got even icier and more dangerous. No doubt there will be a news item about it in the Malvern Gazette this week.