Two really good images Des. The 2nd is very well exposed and B&W works really well.
The first one though is of more interest to me and i think with a bit of work in Photoshop this has great potential.
Using shadows & highlights, layer masks and very careful use of dodge & burn tools you could recover some of the burnt out areas at the top and acentuate the rays and the shadows making this image a winner.
Two nice wintery shots but they look very soft to me!!
Did you take these handheld or use a tripod??
has your lens got IS?? maybe it was switched off!?
if you did use a tripod then maybe the IS was switched on…. i`ve ruined many a shot by forgetting to switch it on/off :(