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The severe wintry weather that had been affecting many other parts of the country since before Christmas finally reached Oxfordshire on Tuesday. Over 20cm of snow fell on Radley during Tuesday night and continued throughout falling Wednesday with severe adverse consequences for transportation and other services. |
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| Clearing skies on Wednesday night resulted in temperatures dipping to around -8°C at dawn on Thursday morning as the sun rose to reveal a snow covered wilderness the like of which has not been seen in this part of the country for nearly 30 years. While for some, the snow has caused some difficulties, many have taken the opportunity to enjoy what has, in recent times, become a rare event. The photographs below show a little of what things were like. | |
6 January 2010 (“Whiteout Wednesday”) |
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Snowed in |
Whiteout |
Heavy snow falling in Stonhouse Crescent during the evening of 5th January. |
Snow falling. Junction of Foxborough Road and St James Terrace. |
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Not Narnia, but snow-covered trees behind Stonhouse Crescent. |
Looking across snow-covered fields towards Nuneham Estate as atrain heads towards Didcot |
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Foxborough Road looking towards Abingdon |
Large icicle, Stonhouse Crescent |
7 January 2010 |
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On Thursday, the world was reduced to a beautiful wintry wilderness. |
This is Church Road, by the Lower-Radley turn. The snow on the seat gives some idea of the depth of the snowfall. |
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Foxborough Road. Some snow has been cleared from the road, but a lot remains. |
Church Road |
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Snow-covered meadows |
The church |
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Some roads were passable (mainly on foot) but bus services through Radley were suspended due to icy roads in Kennington. |
The trains however continued to run. |
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Lower Radley, as seen from the railway footbridge. |
Snow-spattered trees and pavements along Church Road. |
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As snow on rooftops slowly melted in the sunshine, icicles descended from the eaves… |
… in some cases forming menacing curtains along whole facades. |
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Snow… |
…everywhere |
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[Update 31/01/2010] The snow and icy conditions persisted for about a week. On the 13th January a further 6cm of snow fell, but this time heralding the approach of warmer weather. A steady thaw ensued accompanied by rain, and, by the following Monday morning, the snow had all but disappeared completely. Questions have been raised over the level of disruption, and why, for example, the roads had not been cleared sufficiently to allow the buses to run. Many thanks are due to all those who helped clear snow at ley locations throughout the village. While there was some inconvenience, and fuel bills will be bigger, the snow did bring some benefits. It brought people together and invoked a community spirit. The visual impact was certainly uplifting amidst the general gloom of winter, children and adults (even policemen!) alike had fun and business at the community shop was substantially increased. |
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| If you have any interesting photographs of the impact of the recent weather on the landscape and life in Radley, and would like to see them published on this website, please submit them to
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Related Links [updated 31/01/2010] Practical information on local services etc |
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Severest Winter Weather for 30 Years Grips County
Permanent link to this article: http://www.radleyvillage.org.uk/severest-winter-weather-for-30-years-grips-county/
