It doesn't snow that often in Ireland, but it does snow more often than you think, particularly in the meteorological winter months of December, January and February.

The middle of January 2021 has seen some snow falling over much of Ireland but accumulations have been small; lasting, as snow typically does in Ireland, for only a few days at upper elevations and for only a few hours closer to sea level.

The upper slopes of this hill are more snowy than those towards the bottom, the triangle field here as much green as it is white.

It is likely that we will see more snow in 2021 but for the moment warmer weather is on the way.

Ireland is currently on a Level 5 lockdown due to the COVID-19 / Coronavirus pandemic, the country had one of the best - lowest - rates of infection in Europe until recent weeks where we unfortunately saw the 14-day incidence rate become the highest in the world.

Now as Ireland grapples to try and reduce one of the world's highest 14-day incidence rates of Coronavirus infections, it would seem that travel will not be similar to what we call normal until late summer, most likely autumn, of 2021 but let's follow the path towards the rainbow.

They say you'll find gold at the end of a rainbow, that certainly hasn't literally happened to me but there is visual gold in rainbows. Here a faint double rainbow is visible to the right of the image.

Patience and optimism is a key attribute in any photographic endeavour, particularly in landscape photography.

And for that reason, Panoramic Ireland are taking no-deposit required, freely cancellable bookings for 2021 and 2022 - private tours and workshops in Ireland.

'How now brown cow' goes the old saying which is often used in elocution, it's also a phrase often asked of us who come from Northern Ireland.

Most from the other corners of Ireland find how northeners pronounce the 'ow' sound to be funny.

Of course, there are many different Northern Irish accents but this one remains a favourite.

While spring traditionally begins in Ireland on the 1st of February, on Saint Brigid's Day, meteorological winter continues through until the 1st of March.

We have had some snow already in 2021 here in Ireland but most has now melted with warmer and wetter temperatures returning. In fact we had a 14C temperature change in 48 hours from -7 degrees Celsius to +7 degrees.

Typically we would see about a week of snow in the southwest, the warmest and wettest part of Ireland, to three weeks in the higher ground of the Wicklow Mountains and north midlands of Ireland. Away from the west coast essentially.

Rural lanes in Ireland or Green Roads are remnants of old, sometimes ancient, paths through the countryside. Here on a fine winter's day I headed into the green and colourful landscape to view the mountains under the blue sky.

Ireland has had some cold nights recently in January 2021, winter is well and truly here but for now milder conditions have returned and little remains of the snow even at higher altitudes.

I have written about green roads before, here.

The low, setting sun slips below the ridge and at this time only illuminates the higher slopes of the mountains ahead.

The first week of 2021 in Ireland has seen the return of cold, clear and typical winter weather.

A Sudden Stratospheric Warming is taking place that could see the return of the cold conditions that brought the Beast from the East in 2018 and the cold winter of 2010 and 2011.

Here, one of the first sunsets of 2021 from the Irish countryside. A green field, frost and distant mountains under a blue winter sky.

More snow has arrived since, although not much; however, winter 2021 has some way to go yet, it is not over and we should expect more cold, ice and, likely, snow.

Happy New Year from Ireland.

Well, the time has finally arrived, it's time for Panoramic Ireland's final post for 2020.

The year started so well, with a lot of promise then quickly descended into a state of...not so good.

So it's time to bring some hope into the new year and look forward to a better year, starting with January.

I would normally do a review of the year at this time but, well you know how it is. Actually I did photograph some interesting scenes this year but not nearly as many as usual.

The West of Ireland, it's the place that I photograph most often in Ireland along with the Antrim Coast and Dublin.

Here, a typical western scene of rugged mountains, very often coated with a soft green of grass and, here where you see the reddishness, bracken that has died back for the winter. 

Bracken is a type of fern Pteridium that dates back some 55 million years, is highly invasive and can cause cancer in humans (only if eaten) and is poisonous to animals (again only if eaten).

The shortest day of the year has arrived in Ireland and the winter solstice occurred at just after 10:00 today, December 21st.

From here, the winter keeps on for many weeks until the first day of spring but along the way, every day the day length increases by just a little.

Here, in the west of Ireland blue hour ushers in the night; the last remnants of daylight fades lower in the sky as cloud builds to obscure the last warming glow from the western sky.

Morning, and a thin band of sunrise sunlight pierces thick cloud to illuminate the lower slopes of a cloud-covered mountain in the west of Ireland.

Roads like these take you into the splendid scenic views in Ireland as they twist and turn, roll and flow through the rocky, boggy and lush green landscapes of the Irish countryside.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, on a photography tour in the west of Ireland and the rest of Ireland.