Quick update

No, we didn't get flooding (except for briefly on Saturday morning), we got ICE. Night time re-freezes have brought us now into the 'crampons required' phase, and that's just to get in the front door of the offices or walk along the pavements of Aberlour High Street.

The plastic gutters and roan pipes on the Visitor Centre building duly came away with the snow avalanching from the roofs. We have escaped lightly but destruction is all around, especially of farm buildings, where I understand that literally hundreds have collapsed in NE Scotland, many on top of the cattle inside. Many of these buildings, I am told, were not manufactured locally but were brought in as second-hand purchases from south of the border. Scant consolation except perhaps to our local manufacturers whose more substantially built structures have largely survived.

We do winter so badly in this country.

Speyside Way car park in Aberlour (or is it a skating pond!!)

And one more favourite snowy photo -

White Christmas overload.....

Too much of a good thing!

It's amazing how the novelty of a white Christmas wears off when you have 26" of snow, temperatures regularly down in the minus teens, one car packed up, visitors from the other side of the world (who have come from summer and are comlaining about having landed in the Arctic) to collect from and return to airports, central heating playing up... need I go on? All I can say is thank goodness for my 4x4 - without it Christmas may have been white, but otherwise would not have happenned at all and I certainly would not be back at work yet after the New Year holiday.

Let's forget 'global warming' shall we and stick with 'climate change' please!

But enough of me. The Speyside Way has been pretty inaccessible (as in pretty, but inaccessible!) for a couple of weeks now unless on cross-country skis, but just today the thaw has set in - I expect flooding will be the next problem, but we'll keep you posted!

The Spey at Craigellachie by Ged Connell - copyright The Moray Council Ranger Service.