A Reminder of the Dangers of Driving in the Snow

I recently wrote in blog about how I photographed Dartmoor in the snow over a period of three days. We are lucky to get one day of snow on Dartmoor before it clears, so I felt fortunate to get out with my camera three times over three days. Aside from a tricky exit from one car park, driving around Dartmoor in the snowy conditions wasn't too bad and it gave me a bit of confidence to try it again should there be another snowfall.

As if luck was on my side, it was early on in January when Dartmoor experienced another dumping of snow. Eager to get out there and add to my library of snowy Dartmoor pictures I ventured out in the car to photograph the area around Row Tor in the Okehampton military zone. The driving conditions on the main roads weren't too bad, but as always, a little extra caution was called for.

All was going well until I started heading up Station Road in Okehampton where there is less traffic and steeper roads. There was clearly ice and snow on the road, but I was feeling bold, and I was eager to capture some photos, so I kept going. Station Road soon turned into Tors Road, and this is where things got tricky. Tors Road is particularly steep in places, and with very little traffic on that road (and certainly no gritting trucks), I found my car sliding on the ice.

I thought I might be able to make it to the boundary of the military camp, but even if I did, coming back down would be horrible. With the likelihood of the car sliding even under gentle braking, I really didn't fancy descending Tors Road and then sliding into something and damaging my car or someone else's property. So, I made a very careful three point turn and slowly descended back into Okehampton. It was a sensible decision.

However, I didn't want to just give up on my desire to capture photographs that morning. With sunrise getting ever closer there was only one place that I thought I could get a car close enough to and that was Belstone.

I had to drive carefully up the country lane to Belstone, but it was passable. I did the sensible thing and parked in the main car park and started the walk up to Belstone Common. It was a beautiful morning and Belstone village looked like a winter picture post card. Up on the moor the walking was hard going as the snow was deep. I was glad I was wearing my Muck Boot Artic Sport wellies!

Too Much Snow for Belstone?

**A Snowy Belstone Tor #1, Dartmoor National Park, Devon** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 19mm, f/13, 1/15 sec at ISO64

I was surprised to see a few folk up on Belstone at that time of morning, especially with so much snow. My first concern was that they might have already walked through the snow and left foot prints but fortunately for me this wasn’t the case.

Belstone is a place I have photographed numerous times of the years, and I have compositions I know work well. However, as pretty as the snow was, there was more there that I'd ever experienced on Dartmoor and its presence considerably change the look of the location. Compositions featuring my favourite rock formations lost a lot of their definition under a blanket of snow. Don't get me wrong, the snow looked beautiful and some of the patterns that the wind had shaped the snow into looked amazing. But it was hard work finding compositions.

**A Snowy Belstone Tor #2, Dartmoor National Park, Devon** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 18mm, f/13, 1/30 sec at ISO64

Another challenge was the mostly clear blue sky. With a very white foreground and a blue sky, I felt the scene lacked interest or drama. It was certainly wonderful to look at, but that doesn't always make for a compelling photograph.

While I am often critical of my photographs because I either should have composed them better or the conditions weren't right, the one thing I always do is enjoy my time while I'm out with the camera and I most certainly enjoyed my morning on Belstone Common. Watching the sunrise over the rolling hills of a snowy Dartmoor was a joyous experience and one that I would happily do again.