Yesterday, I sat on the Pier at Southwold, Suffolk (just about the most easterly point in the UK) and ate an Ice Cream. It was sunny, warm and balmy.
Earlier in the day I'd watched Marsh Harriers performing their aerial courtship, some Mediterranean Gulls nestbuilding and other birds singing in the sun.
Definitely the calm before the storm
This morning and less than 10 miles from Southwold I woke up to find almost 2in of snow on the ground.
And there is more to come. Brrrr.
Samantha
Comments
East Anglia
Some years ago I did a cycle tour from Ipswich up through Southwold, Lowestoft, Gt Yarmouth and the North Norfolk coast before getting down to Narj (Norwich) and the train back home.
In February. No, I didn't camp. Yes, it snowed.
Southwold is the home of Adnam's brewery, and is just up from Dunwich*, which has a fascinating history and is the end point of the Dun Run I mention in 'Something to Declare'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunwich
*No. Not the Dunwich mentioned by HP Lovecraft.
Not forgetting
Norfolk is where I'd be taken as a child and we'd sit on the beach at Hunstanton in August wearing winter clothing it was so cold. Yet yesterday, it was positively balmy. (The train still ran there in those days and we could get there from Chatteris without needing to change)
In Norwich at Lunchtime, the biting easterly wind was making it feel around 6-7deg C colder than is should be. Brrrrrrrrrr
I'm close to Rugby now and no snow and the wind has dropped. More snow forecast for tomorrow.
Samantha
Suffolk
Lowestoft is where I spent my first school time in the UK at the age of thirteen. The husband of the family I stayed with was a fisherman. I never got Fish and chips as good as in the café near the fish auctions ever again and believe me I tried hard!
It took years to get rid of the accent I acquired, the teacher at my school in Hamburg was horrified, but I never had to work again for English lessons up to my A-levels.
Now Adnam's Ales, that really was something to write home about ... Southwold... fond memories of my first girl-friend.
Later I walked along the coast from Felixstowe to Kings Lynn and from there to Norwich. Nice walk, not Sizewell though. Fancy dropping something like that on such a nice stretch of coast ... :(
Monique S
Beastie weather
After not going out on Thursday because it was hissing down I decided to brave the 'cloudy with occasional flurries' forecast up here today. And yes that's what it was although the flurries were somewhat more regular than I expected. I stopped for tea and egg on toast, it snowed enough to coat my bike whilst I ate and drank! However as I set off for the 50km home it was, if not warm, at least closer to the forecast.
Of course it couldn't last, the further west and higher I rode the more snow in each flurry - well the flurries were lasting longer too. With 10km to go it was settling on the road and I put my head down to get home and warm. Let's just say that riding in a snow storm at -6c with the brakes frozen to inaction is not the most fun i've ever had.
When I got home my boots had about a centimetre of ice encrusted over them, the bike had gained half of that in ice on pretty much everything except the actual chain! I've been out on bikes in snow many times before but never had this sort of icing up, it's usually just snow/slush that falls off, this took over an hour to melt indoors!
As I sit here, it's been snowing from flurry to blizzard for about eight hours solid. It's not hugely deep but i'm guessing it's drifting somewhat away from the shelter of the city. The high routes around here were closing before lunch (I heard Sally traffic in the cafe) and from my kitchen I can see one of the main Sheffield west routes (between blizzards) and there have been lots of flashing blue lights up there. Guessing there will be evidence of winter well into spring this week! There was still snow from the last lot out in the Peaks mid week.
Stay safe everyone
Mads
Madeline Anafrid Bell
Nice and balmy...
Just on the other side of the wall of my apartment it is somwhere around -15C right now...
It is a global warming, obviously. I am sure that there are some places in Australia where it is a bit warmer than here....
Warmer?
It was too hot today in Australia where I am.... 40°C in March!! It's supposed to cooling down now not frying out backsides off