Britain in the Snow

Happy new year from Northumberland! The UK has begun 2026 with quite a cold snap, something that certainly doesn’t happen every year. We’ve had snow – enough snow for it to officially look like snow and not just a sprinkling of icing sugar. And it feels darn chilly and icy out there.

My husband and I are familiar with snow and cold temperatures, though, as we once spent a year in a town on the Canadian prairies. Even though that winter was the mildest in fifty years and it was a brown Christmas, the temperatures were still well below freezing. When we explained to our Canadian friends that winter can often feel very cold in the UK, they couldn’t understand why wimpy Brits would complain of feeling so cold at -1°C (30°F) when they go outdoors quite happily at temperatures much lower than that. The difference is that Britain is an island so has a much more humid climate, hence the cold is damp and gets right into your bones. Brr! The centre of North America couldn’t be much further from the sea, so the cold is dry and you can wrap up against it.

Another thing that our Canadian friends laughed about was the British fear of driving in the snow. This, again, relates to the UK climate, as well as to the fact that we don’t see a lot of snow in most parts of Britain so don’t get much practice. The majority of people don’t put winter tyres on their vehicles and probably aren’t even aware that such things exist, as they’re not needed most of the time. The danger for driving – and indeed walking – comes when the temperature hovers around 0°C. In the daytime, it might be just above freezing, but at night the thermometer dips to the minuses. Any snow or water on the ground goes through a cycle of thawing and freezing, making ice prevalent. Imagine driving on a skating rink – without winter tyres – or walking to the bus stop on an icy surface wearing normal shoes or boots. It’s not unusual for accidents to happen, so it’s understandable that the British are often wary.

On the upside, the great thing about the snow is that it makes the drab winter scenery look so beautiful and clean. And then, of course, there’s a lot of fun to be had for children, and if they’re really lucky, school might be closed for a day or two. Every snow cloud has a silver lining.