The Ice Rink

The lake looks almost completely frozen now. Apparently it has to be 13cm thick to be safe to skate on and I haven't seen anyone on it yet, but there are a few tentative footprints around the edge. Last year's harsh winter meant that for the first time in around 14 or 15 years it was safe to skate on the lakes here, the police officially announced this just before New Year, when people had already been skating on it for a week or so! The window of opportunity is quite short as further snow creates pits and bumps on the surface making it not so easy to skate on, but it was beautiful to see (we weren't quite brave enough and had no skates last year!), and quite the opportunity for some people who made the most of it and skated across this vast lake instead of taking the half an hour drive or 4 hour walk around it!