Golden winterlight 1

Winter scene in Rough Standhills on the south side of the Limb Valley in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

Rough Standhills is a mainly coniferous plantation, with birch, beech and oak on its margins. The north-facing flank is a rough, tangled wilderness with no footpaths. This is the haunt of fox, badger and deer. In the winter, the sun barely rises above the rim of the valley and most of this side remains in shadow all day. On the far side of the valley, the tops of the bare beeches are golden in the winter sunlight.

On this particular morning a light snowfall and a hoar frost had turned it into a winter wonderland.