I've mountaineered across Britain, Duke, for about 30 years, so this in summary: I think it is fair to say, we don't get snow dwelling for long (below 1,000ft) and snow tyres are considered overkill when you have maybe three days of "being snowed in" for most locations,before the 2-3" deposited melts.
Living in known high spots, from Dartmoor in the far south, through the Peak and Lake Districts, and near enough anywhere north of The Great Glen in Scotland, different picture. 4WD's VERY desirable, snow chains (and their less durable cousins, "snow slippers") considered by many as the minimum.
Brits in general, outside the high zones, tend to overrract to even mild falls of snow (that should start something akin to a 'sharpening war') instead of just getting on with it. Wimps!
I'm a few miles north of Lons, just above NuuKassel (as pronounced in Geordie) and my ground, in the shadows, has not thawed in just over a week, including the beach sand on the coast 4 miles away.
"Nae probs, big Monn" as they say. Walk carefully, look out for black ice (last Saturday was dire for it) and drive like your maiden auntie: slow. Our present massive issue is the increased flooding brought about by changes in our weather patterns - and, 'Oh Boy', does melting snow contribute in this respect.
Most of our island nation is too close to the sea (maritime influence) to get the really low winter temperatures and associated low humidity of central continental venues like in Canada's Alberta, Saskatchewan, etc, so instead of sustained winter and lingering drifts, we get 7-10 day fluctuations either side of freezing. Going to be 8-10°C here in about four days time, apparently. -8°C last night and previous one, according to my Mickey Mouse thermometer.
