Clipstone Forest (January 2019)

The decision to follow up the foggy conditions in Clipstone Forest turned out to be a good one (see my previous post). Whilst it was fairly dull and gloomy there was a fantastic hoar frost that had settled on some of the young birch trees.

A hoar frost occurs when freezing temperatures leave ice crystals forming on objects above ground level e.g. on leaves and tree branches. These conditions are sometimes referred to as an air hoar and it is one of the prettiest winter conditions to photograph.

As a side note, the term 'hoar' is an interesting one. It derives from an Old English term for showing signs of age. The covering of ice crystal in this context refers to the white hair of elderly people (1):

The following images add some more context to the above selection showing the forest paths lined with white coated trees:

(1) https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2017/02/hoar-frost/