Tuesday 28th October 2008 - Carlisle


I have had days when I have felt I have travelled through time, but this has always been a sense of travelling through different historical periods. Today I felt as if I travelled through seasons. I am on my way north to Scotland for a few days. I have travelled this late in the year before and know to pack plenty of scarves and socks. The weather forecast said wintery showers and I thought I might see a few flurries of snow.

When I set off it was a perfect autumn day, sunny and clear. The trees looking lovely in their autumn colours. There has been coverage that it has been a mild October and the trees would be beginning to shut down but without a frost this had gone to colour rather than leaves falling. After today's weather dust down your left blower and expect leaves on the line within the week.
As I passed Birmingham, the sky turned from blue to grey. I could see showers in the distance and drove on the edge of a couple. Ahead of me the sky lightened and I thought I had escaped the wintery showers. But no. The lightening of clouds meant they were full of snow. First sleet, then small flakes, then big fat heavy flakes of snow. Snow falling so fast it was like driving through fog, visibility reduced to 100 yards or so. Around me the landscape had been transformed from colourful autumn to Christmas card white and grey. The snow had settled on the fields and trees (fortunately not on the road), there was some frosty wind making moan and snow was falling snow on snow. It was too early in the season for the ground to be like a stone, but otherwise it was doing an impressively winter show. Cattle and sheep in the fields were looking around, as surprised as the drivers.

Some miles on and it was back to autumn. Blue skies, orange and red leaves on the trees, earth back to brown where the fields had been ploughed. I stopped briefly in Kendal and then decided to take the A6 (the old road north) up over Shap. By this time night was falling and the light becoming more blue with every passing minute. Shap is a high pass and vulnerable to ice so I was keen to get through before the night arrived fully. It was the most beautiful winter evening and the road was empty with views out across the Lake District. Hills outlined by the setting sun, mist rising as the cold air hit the warmer earth, the light turning violet as the sun dropped behind the hills. Lights of vehicles standing out as they zigzagged across the landscape. Traffic on the M6 hurtling along in the distance.

Now I'm in Carlisle and heading north in the morning, wondering how best to avoid the snow as I get into Scotland. I'm staying near Oban and I can't tell quite how high the roads are. It looks as if I'll be on back roads and not sure if these will have been gritted. Hoping for the low road, not the high road.

posted at 22:50 in /travel (permanent link)