Snow on the Ridgeway

Yesterday's walk to Avebury along the Ridgeway was in the snow! It was very cold, with temperatures forecast to hover around freezing all day; when I left home, there was a small amount of snow in the back garden, but only a powdering. I was not prepared for the amount of snow I encountered when I reached the Ridgeway, it was fabulous, although made walking much slower than usual. I would love to be able to get there in 3 hours, but realistically 3 hours 20 minutes is a good time to do the walk, in the summer, it's often quite hot, and in the winter the muddy conditions slow me down. Yesterday's walk took 3 hours 45 minutes, I did encounter a friend in one of the car parks, her friend's car had got stuck in mud as she tried to reverse out of the parking spot. I didn't think I'd be much good at pushing, but some other people quickly came along, and I was left holding a dog, delaying progress by at least 10 minutes!
Here are the photos:

I think this one is the best, I love the narrow path through the snow in the foreground, giving way to blue sky and beech trees.

 It's quite deep isn't it?

Those photos were taken on the highest parts of the walk, near Barbury Castle, there was a much thinner coating:

 Both of these photos are an attempt to photograph Barbury Castle, they don't convey the splendour of it at all. I think maybe I should try using a camera rather than my phone to take photos

 Below another beech clump photo demonstrating the fact they do offer shelter, there's no snow around them at all.

It's not very clear why I took this photo and included it, but for anyone who has done this walk, it's the welcome sight of the footpath going off to the right and down to Avebury, you have to look hard and use your imagination if you don't know the walk.