As winter finally arrived and nudged aside what remained of autumn, a series of sharp frosts and strong winds whisked away any remaining leaves and for us and it was quite a shock to the system.

The first frost caused a feeding frenzy on my garden bird feeders with early birds coming down to stock up after a freezing night.

As I stroll through light woodland, still some leaves of brown come fluttering down. On a partially cloudy day I always look for the silver lining and there it was, brightly surrounding a bank of dark cloud causing a wonderful glowing silver light.

Large herds of fallow deer browsed in their dark winter coats with an occasional light-coloured buck among them

Apart from jackdaws, very few birds were around, so entering the cafe for a warming cappuccino and a mince pie, the jackdaws were waiting ready to snap any crumbs dropped from tables.

So far this early winter I've not seen any redwings but with the sudden arrival of a blast of icy air from Scandinavia, they may now be winging their way down south to add some colour to the sombre winter season.