Snow over Montserratt and the Golden Valley

I was very surprised when I got up to make our tea this morning. I drew the curtains to reveal a whiteout, snow lying everywhere. I'd had no inkling that it was at all likely. Even more exciting was the relatively clear sky with just the beginning of sunlight hitting the tp of the hills on the far side of the valley.

I made the tea and then immediately got dressed and grabbed my camera. After poking the lens out of the window I decided to venture outside and walked to the nearby cemetery. Then I walked down the footpath beside the house and out onto The Horns valley from where I could look back across the Golden Valley.

The sun had by now risen just high enough for its rays to shine light onto the hillside area called Montserratt, just east of Butterow. The area on the top of the hills is Rodborough Common, which runs morphs into Minchinhampton Common, both of which are areas of traditional limestone grassland managed by the National Trust in the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the AONB).