Who can remember 1963?

I was living in Farnborough in Hampshire when the UK suffered one of the longest freezes of all time in the winter of 1962/1963. The photo above suggested that we didn't have a huge amount of snow in our garden but what I remember is that we built a fort (kids always did military things in those days) on the pavement and I am think it was about 10 weeks before all the snow melted.

Some would say that we have not learnt from those big snows of the past when in the Isle of Man many of the country districts were cut off. With fewer comforts in our houses and a shortage of food things were much worse than now.

By the time we made our trip to the Isle of Man in to stay with my grandmother in Kirk Michael throughout the Summer of 1963 , where we were to move two years later, the Highway Board (as the Department of Transport was known as in those days) had erected fencing about 10 yards on the mountain side of the main hedge between Cronk-y-Voddy and Barregarrow . The idea was that the snow would drift against this fences in future years instead of drifting against the main road hedges.

I don't think that the next few winters were too bad and after being used for sheep pens and falling over the fences were eventually removed. It will be interesting to see if any ideas to maintain road opening will be introduced after this year only to fall into disrepair before another bad winter.

Does anyone think the Department of Transport will be hedging this time?