PICTURE 1: Winter has been holding Inverclyde in its icy grip and causing the usual traffic problems, but less so thanks to the great work of snowplough teams who labour round the clock to keep us moving. 

This week I have selected some of my favourite snow pictures which appeared in the Telegraph over the years. 

Although the temptation was to select snowy views which always show Inverclyde’s beauty in a good light, I have instead chosen pictures which feature people, something which might bring some happy memories for those involved. 

Gourock’s almost legendary old putting green, which must be one of the steepest in the land, provides the perfect snow run for snowboarders and sledgers alike who can, if the right path is chosen, become free of the earth’s gravity as they are launched into the air from the well known number five and number nine holes of the green. 

This picture, taken in 1998 shows the view from the top of the putting green. 

The rhododendron bushes to the left have saved many a downhill racer from injury as they provided the perfect barrier for those accidentally heading off-piste. 

PICTURE 2: When persistent snow covers the ground to the point that clearing teams can no longer keep up, people still have to get to work. 

During a particularly heavy snowfall, I set off for Greenock’s Lyle Hill to see how folks were getting about without their cars. 

As I looked down towards Lady Alice Primary School, this lone figure walking up Grieve Road caught my eye and I took this shot through the cold, dry air of early morning.

PICTURE 3: When persistent snow covers the ground to the point that clearing teams can no longer keep up, people still have to get to work. 

During a particularly heavy snowfall, I set off for Greenock’s Lyle Hill to see how folks were getting about without their cars. 

As I looked down towards Lady Alice Primary School, this lone figure walking up Grieve Road caught my eye and I took this shot through the cold, dry air of early morning. 

PICTURE 4: Snowfalls can sometimes be so severe in Greenock that locals take to building igloos. 

Patrick Street resident Stewart Gillespie helped neighbour’s son Paul Doran fashion this five star residence made from freshly fallen snow. 

Although the igloo looked somewhat cramped and of an original style, it can’t be denied that the whole enterprise had been great success, as this picture shows!

PICTURE 5: Of course, nowhere in Inverclyde gets the snow worse than the high altitude upper Port Glasgow, where the area can be blanketed in fluffy white stuff while the rest of Inverclyde is awash with rain and slush. 

This picture, which was taken in the winter of 2007, shows kids posing proudly beside their new friend, a grinning snowman who looked like he wouldn’t last the night.

This winter has presented kids and adults alike with more than the usual number of sledging opportunities and one can’t help feeling that the climate is indeed changing. 

Whatever the reasons though, the snow always makes a picture which will find its way onto the pages of the Telegraph and maybe bring back some happy memories in years to come.