A magical December morning

It was sunny on my hill the other morning so I thought I’d get a morning stroll in before the weekend walkers were out and about. Within a few steps from the front door I realised the sun hadn’t quite reached the valley. This was going to be a magical morning walk.

Cloud inversions are a common occurrence in my part of Wiltshire, and unusually they seem to happen year round. Some mornings though, particularly in the cooler months of winter, they are spectacular.

Cloud inversions are caused when cold, dense air sinks into valleys and settles, trapping the moisture from rivers, lakes or even damp ground. As the air cools to its dew point, the moisture condenses into mist or fog. A layer of warmer air then sits above this colder air preventing the fog from rising. You could say that the warmer air is acting like an invisible lid.

I decided not to cross the river for my return journey as it was quite dark and much much colder once you dropped down, even just a little bit, into the valley. I am glad though I did drop down as far as I did though as it was atmospheric in the valley mist. Wishing everyone a peaceful Christmas.