Snow-hit Aberdeenshire village experiencing ‘worst winter in 25 years’

A village in Aberdeenshire has seen 30cm (just under 1ft) of snow in “one of the worst winters in 25 years”, according to locals.

Doug Griffin, 58, has lived in Insch, Aberdeenshire, for 25 years, and said the weather conditions – which have caused the village to be cut off – are “remarkable” and “exceptional”.

He said that while residents are used to snow, the drifts on Wednesday were currently 30cm (just under 12in) deep, and had been higher on Tuesday before they thawed.

Mr Griffin, a father-of-two who works from home for the North Sea Transition Authority, said that on Tuesday the drifts had been around 50cm deep.

He said that a snow plough had cleared the entrance to the local Co-Op, which he photographed on Tuesday evening with piles of snow reaching almost to the roof.

Mr Griffin said: “It has been a long time since we have had anything like this, it is very different here.

“We moved up to the north-east 25 years ago, the first winter was quite bad, 2010 was quite bad, but this might be the worst.

“I was going round to the Co-Op to get some stuff, and it took my breath away.

“They ploughed the road, I think they had cleared some of the car park.

“I think there’s about 30cm of snow lying everywhere at the moment.

“It is slightly wetter today, and I think some of the snow in Aberdeen has gone.

“At my front door, the depth is about 30cm. We are snowed in, we have not been able to get out of the village for a few days.”

He said that a snow plough had cleared the road on Monday, but that delivery lorries struggled to reach the village due to being around two miles from the A96, and compared the situation at the local supermarket to the food shortages during the pandemic.

Mr Griffin said: “The snow is not going away, it is going to be well below freezing. It looks like it may be milder next week.

“There has been nothing like this since 2010, it is quite remarkable. It makes it really difficult to do anything.

“There were people getting frustrated last night because the shop hadn’t stocked up.

“We are not used to it. We do get snow, but it is nothing like this, it is exceptional.

“People are helping each other out, my wife has been to see our elderly neighbours.

“I think it’s a bit like Covid – a lot of the shelves are completely empty.

“Lorries can’t get to the Co-Op as they can’t get to the road.

“Insch is about two miles from the A96 – when they turn into places like this, they can’t get in.

“It has not been the start of the year we would have wanted.”