News for March 2018
March has brought snow to us in Hope Bagot, as indeed it has to a lot of Britain. First we had the “big snow” at the beginning of the month, when we were actually cut off for a couple of days with our lanes blocked with drifted snow. We have just had the “middling snow” episode, with about 4 inches falling. This wasn’t enough to block the roads, but it was bitterly cold with cutting easterly winds. In weather like that, it’s not hard to see why the old pub above Clee Hill Village came to be renamed The Kremlin! The punishing cold has made it very hard work on the farm to keep the livestock fed, and especially to keep their water supply from freezing up.
Despite the white carpet that has fallen, the snowdrops have lived up to their name and have made a brave show to remind us that winter is on its way out and things are starting to stir and grow again. There are even a few primroses emerging in the most sheltered spots, and some early hints of birdsong when the sun is out and the temperature lifts a little.
Although the snow can make life hard here for upland farmers, we can’t deny that it has made the landscape breathtakingly beautiful while it lasted. From the top of our drive, we looked out onto a sparkling white Teme Valley and down to the Black Mountains (belying their name for once) in clear crisp air with a bright blue sky overhead and the sun glancing back off every surface it struck. Why not consider an early break with us next year and see it all for yourselves?
