Picture dated February 14th shows people making the most of the cold weather whilst it lasts by skating on the Cambridgeshire Fens near Ely on Sunday morning before the thaw arrives. It takes three nights of temperatures of minus six or below to form ice strong enough to skate on. Just where in the Fens it is possible to skate varies from year to year and depends on where the farmers and river authorities have allowed the land to flood. The last time the Fens froze was three years ago in 2018 when the Beast from the East hit the UK and the skaters managed to get a day on the ice. The Cambrid
Picture dated February 14th shows people making the most of the cold weather whilst it lasts by skating on the Cambridgeshire Fens near Ely on Sunday morning before the thaw arrives. It takes three nights of temperatures of minus six or below to form ice strong enough to skate on. Just where in the Fens it is possible to skate varies from year to year and depends on where the farmers and river authorities have allowed the land to flood. The last time the Fens froze was three years ago in 2018 when the Beast from the East hit the UK and the skaters managed to get a day on the ice. The Cambridgeshire Fens were the birthplace of British speed skating and when farm hands were unable to work on the frozen land they welcomed the chance to skate for prizes. The first properly organised skating race was held in the Fens in 1814 and during the harsh Victorian winters people travelled from America and the continent to compete for a leg of mutton or a bag of flour. Competitions became rarer during the last century as winters gradually got milder. People wore “fen runners,” made by setting blades with curved fronts into blocks of wood, which were screwed into the soles of everyday boots.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Photo credit: © Geoffrey Robinson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: aerial, bobble, cambridgeshire, cold, drone, fen, fens, field, freezing, frozen, hat, hockey, ice, outdoor, outdoors, skater, skaters, skating, snap, traditional, upware, weather, winter
