#CountryKids Winter Stroll at Crook

When the temperature gauge is reading a temperature like this there is only one thing to do...

Wrap up warm and head out for a stroll in the countryside around Crook, even if the children don't want to!:

There was plenty to investigate with frozen puddles to smash and ice to look at:

For grown ups there were stunning views across to snowy fells:

There are plenty of tempting looking paths that we could have followed:

But we mostly stuck to the lane as the footing was better:

My son enjoyed taking photos on his new phone:

These sheep posed nicely for us whilst eating their hay:

The distant fells had a lovely dusting of snow and we were soon to get our own:

For the moment though the fields were still green with just a smidgeon of snow on them:

On the entire walk we met one lady walking her dog as everyone else must have decided to stay at home in the warmth:

Then the snow flurries started to come over us from the hills:

At first there wasn't very much so we enjoyed looking at the features such as this frozen tarn:

Then it was onto the Beckside Golf Course. There were only four players out on the course so we didn't have to worry too much about low flying golf balls:

The deep freeze was having an impact on the course as well. The ground was very firm under foot and the cleaning kit at the holes was a tad frozen:

Along the edge of the course were plenty of traditional Cumbrian features such as this lovely stone stile:

By now the snow was coming down heavily enough to play the "catch a flake on your tongue" game:

Good job there weren't many cars around as the children were running along trying to catch the flakes:

This was a chance for a fun alternative selfie:

The snow was covering us as well as adding to the countryside:

We finished our walk with a wander along the beck and paths that were still muddy despite the big freeze:

When we got back to the start of the walk the road was now almost completely covered in fresh snow:

This made a sibling snowball fight inevitable:

You can see how much snow had fallen by comparing this shot to the first one in the post: