Breathtaking images have emerged of frozen ice balls in a loch on the remote Shetland island of Foula.
Over the past few days, Shetland’s suffered heavy snow, which has left thousands of homes without power, schools closed and commuters stranded.
However, amid the wintry weather difficulties, there has also been some beauty.
Donna Atherton was left astonished after coming across this phenomenon on her walk at Rossie’s Loch yesterday.
“I thought I’ll have a walk just for a bit of fitness, we’re wildlife mad anyway, so we’re always looking out for anything,” she said.
“I looked and I thought ‘what’s that?’ and as I got closer to it I was blown away and I got my good camera and my phone out.
“My husband was at the south end of the island and I text him a photo straight away, I knew I’d never seen it before.
“I’ve heard of ice pancakes before, but I’ve never heard of these.”
‘More volume underneath surface’
Mrs Atherson decided to inspect the ice balls further by pulling a couple of them out of the water.
“I got one of them out of the water and as I put it on the side it just fell to pieces, then I got another one out and that stayed intact.
“But what you see on the surface is only a little bit, when you see underneath, there’s a lot more volume to it.
“These were on average I’d say 20cm by 10cm (10ins by 3ins), so they were almost more oval, but they’re all different shapes and sizes.”
Mrs Atherson is not normally one to share her photos, but couldn’t resist letting others enjoy the beauty of what she found.
She added: “I was made up and I thought, ‘really I’m a very private person, but I can’t leave this on not have other people share this’ it’s such a beautiful and interesting thing.
Foula is one of the UK’s most remote islands as it lies 20 miles west of Shetland’s mainland and has a population of 30 permanent residents.
The isle is celebrated for its beauty including five distinctive peaks, one of the UK’s highest sheer sea cliffs and a crack in the cliffs known locally as ‘Sneck Ida Smaalie.’
Mrs Atherson added there’s “so much nature in Foula, it’s fantastic.”
Conversation