First Snow of Winter

There were moments yesterday when Kilchoan Bay was filled with sunshine, the bracken glowing like old gold. Last night we had a hard frost, and by ten this morning it had begun to snow.

Western Ardnamurchan doesn't see much snow. In recent years, Kilchoan, at the end of twenty miles of narrow, winding, single-track road, has been cut off for a couple of days, while Portuairk, with the steep hill down into the village, has been cut off more frequently.

When we left Essex to come up here we brought sheepskin coats and friends gave us presents of Alpine gloves. "You're going up to Scotland," they said. "It'll be bitter in winter." We've never worn the gloves, and the moths that live in the sheepskin have only seen the light of day once.

Yet today, while Kilchoan has occasional flurries of damp snow which hardly settles, Essex is in the grip of a blizzard, with up to 20cm of snow forecast. Power lines are down, the posties have been sent home from work, and there is chaos reported on the roads.

JH