Snow blankets the UK – in pictures

(Image credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

published 14 December 2022

Parts of the UK were blanketed with snow this week while icy conditions and freezing temperatures caused disruption in severely affected areas.

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The snow resulted in the “all too predictable disruption” the UK normally faces, wrote Mary Dejevsky in The Spectator. For the often short-lived snow experienced by London and the Southeast, in particular, it is right “not to invest taxpayers’ money in pre-empting winter”, she argued. However, the government should address the need for “better insulation of buildings” adding that “roads and pavements should be salted and gritted when a freeze is forecast”.

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Travel was widely disrupted at the end of the weekend and into Monday, with cars and buses struggling with the treacherous conditions on the road.

It wasn’t just the roads that were thrown into disarray. Train services around the country were either cancelled or severely delayed, providing a headache for many people on the Monday-morning commute.

A total of 140 flights serving UK airports were grounded because of the inclement weather. Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at Stansted Airport as they awaited information about their flights.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom, though, with many people taking the opportunity to enjoy local parks and countryside with a dusting of snow.

Some of London’s landmarks also provided an attractive snowy scene despite the travel chaos.

Much of Scotland, including Edinburgh, received the snow earlier than southern areas. In Scotland’s capital, people took the opportunity to see its landmarks in a different light, and capture some images for posterity.

The local wildlife also had to cope with the freezing conditions, ice and snow.

With schools forced to close, it was a prime opportunity for many children around the country to enjoy a day of fun in the snow.

Richard Windsor is a freelance writer for The Week Digital. He began his journalism career writing about politics and sport while studying at the University of Southampton. He then worked across various football publications before specialising in cycling for almost nine years, covering major races including the Tour de France and interviewing some of the sport’s top riders. He led Cycling Weekly’s digital platforms as editor for seven of those years, helping to transform the publication into the UK’s largest cycling website. He now works as a freelance writer, editor and consultant.

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