{"id":164,"date":"2021-12-01T10:00:05","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T09:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/?p=32360"},"modified":"2021-12-01T15:55:17","modified_gmt":"2021-12-01T14:55:17","slug":"best-of-the-british-countryside-in-december","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/best-of-the-british-countryside-in-december\/","title":{"rendered":"Best of the British countryside in December"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Daniel Graham\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 01 December 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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December signals the start of winter. Snow falls, wildfowl\u00a0and waders<\/a> fill the waterways and the light sits low, creating multi-hued sunsets over frosty hills, farmland and mountains.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a festive month too, when twinkling Christmas lights fill Britain\u2019s villages and towns<\/a>, and hot soups offer comfort and warmth after cold winter wanders<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve come across some spectacular photography while putting together the December print issue of BBC Countryfile Magazine<\/em><\/a>, from seal pups and frosty footpath to mistletoe<\/a> and festive country houses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Celebrate the weeks ahead with our pick of the best December highlights from the British countryside.<\/p>\n

Spectacular solstice<\/h3>\n
\""Standing\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Stonehenge at night with starry Milky Way sky on the winter solstice\/Credit:\u00a0D. Lentz, Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
The hibernal solstice<\/a> marks midwinter and the shortest day of the year, 21 December. To catch the full extent of daylight, rise at night to see the sunrise. There\u2019s something magical about striding out in the pre-dawn, torch in hand. Your sense of hearing and smell is heightened in the dark: the snap of twig, rustle of wildlife and smell of mulched vegetation intensified. As the sky lightens, watch the land take on colour and definition, then wait for the sunrise to reveal the landscape at your feet. If you feel ambitious, journey to the ancient site of Stonehenge (pictured) to mark this special time of year.<\/div>\n
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Seasonal snow<\/h3>\n
\""A\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The average speed of a falling snowflake is 3\u20134mph\/Credit: Stephen Hyde, Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Did you know that the average speed of a falling snowflake is 3\u20134mph? However, some snowflakes \u2013 the really fast ones \u2013 can reach lightning speeds of 9mph or even 10mph. Also, freshly fallen snow absorbs sound waves. That is why our cities and countryside sound so hushed after a flurry.\u00a0Not many people know that s<\/span>ummertime snowbursts occur on Mars. Oh, and in case you were wondering,\u00a0Chionophobia describes an intense fear of snow. There are other weather-related phobias, too, including astraphobia (thunderstorms) and ancraophobia (wind).<\/p>\n

Magical towns<\/h3>\n
\""Town\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The Georgian town of Stamford in winter\/Credit: Travel Pix, Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The magnificently preserved Georgian town of Stamford earned its wealth from the 18th-century wool trade and its position halfway between London and York on the Great North Road. Sir Walter Scott deemed it \u201cthe finest stone town in England\u201d.<\/p>\n

Christmas tree harvest<\/h3>\n
\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Workers cut a Christmas tree for a customer in Scotland\/Credit: Iain Masterton, Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Workers at the Kilted Tree Company<\/a> in Milnathort, Perth and Kinross, cut a Christmas tree<\/a> specifically chosen by a customer. Christmas-tree delivery issues may mean more of us will have to go direct to the grower if we want a real tree to decorate in our homes this year.<\/p>\n

Illuminated villages<\/h3>\n
\""Countryside\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Wander Clovelly\u2019s streets at Christmas\/Credit: Terry Mathews, Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

The Christmas lights celebration in Clovelly<\/a> is a joyful affair, with carol singing and a brass band procession down to the harbour, before the festive illuminations are turned on and fireworks sparkle over the cobbled streets of this pretty Devon fishing village.<\/p>\n

Neolithic mounds<\/h3>\n
\""Neolithic\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Silbury Hill blanketed in snow\/Credit: Tim Gainey, Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

This extraordinary landscape includes Silbury Hill, Wiltshire\u2019s prehistoric chalk and turf \u2018pyramid\u2019, built by Neolithic<\/a> people and the largest manmade hill in Europe. Conical, with a (possibly uncontemporary) flat top, it remains a commanding and mysterious presence, stolidly keeping its 4,700-year-old authority to itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Winter birds<\/h3>\n
\""Bird\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Waxwing, Bombycilla garrulus, on a rowan tree\/Credit: Mike Lane, Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Drupes (holly berries) from\u00a0holly trees, rosehips, rowan berries and hawthorn berries provide red fruit for song and mistle thrushes, tits<\/a>, fieldfares, blackbirds, redwings, waxwings (pictured) and finches during the winter months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chilly nature reserves<\/h3>\n
\""Moss\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Moss grows over an old stone wall on Brook Vessons Nature Reserve, Shropshire\/Credit: John Hayward, <\/span>Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

If you\u2019re heading to Shropshire<\/a> this winter, don\u2019t miss the opportunity to explore secluded\u00a0Brook Vessons Nature Reserve, <\/a>rich in its own arboreal treasure, and home to bats<\/a> and dormice to boot. You will find hollies here, but of particular note are the ancient crab apple, birch and rowan, sheltered from south-westerlies by the hill.\u00a0The trees are grown-out hedges, remembering the miners\u2019 old boundaries and tracks.<\/p>\n

Festive folklore<\/h3>\n
\""Christmas\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Chritsmas trees and lights at night in Pembridge. Herefordshire. England\/Credit: Tim Gainey, <\/span>Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Where did wassailing originate and what does wassailing mean?\u00a0This ancient tradition holds it roots in the south-west of England. Visit the region in winter and enjoy a short walk around the town of Pembridge<\/a>, a place pivotal in the popularisation of the famous Christmas carol, Gloucestershire Wassail.<\/i><\/p>\n

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