Freeze frame

Hill walkers in northern England yesterday woke to find the first widespread snowfall of the season. This covering of snow on the Pennine Way in Cumbria came as the Met Office warned an Arctic blast is on the way, with a three-week cold snap set to start by Friday. There were sightings of snow in the highest areas of Snowdonia and 2in is expected to fall in the Scottish Highlands today as temperatures are set to plummet as low as 19F (–7C), colder than the Russian Arctic.