Team GBR skater joins crowds on frozen fen fields

Dozens of skaters – including an international competitor – have flocked to The Fens from far and wide after word got out that flooded fields had frozen over.

Competitive skating began in the watery landscape in 1879 and since then it has become a magnet for lovers of “natural ice”.

Fen skating takes place when a field floods and then freezes over, so the ice is very shallow, in places just a few centimetres, unlike frozen lakes.

Peter Riches, 24, a Team GBR short track skater who came from Nottingham to try out his blades at Welney, on the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire border, said: “We all made the trip over – we all kind of flock here from various parts of the country.”

Word got out at the weekend that the Fens were freezing and with the cold snap due to last, many more are expected to make the pilgrimage to the wide open spaces.

Competitive skater Riches said: “You just have to make sure that you respect the ice – I don’t think you’re ever going to tame the ice.

“You can go as fast as you like.

“This feels more natural, more organic. This is what I call real skating

“That’s what the sport is all about; that’s how it started; that’s the tradition.

“It’s a challenge, there are little obstacles you have to avoid, but as much as it’s a challenge, it’s more like a treat.”

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service has warned people to stay off frozen lakes after reports of youngsters playing on them at the weekend.

However, those involved in skating on the Fenland fields are quick to point out how shallow the frozen water they use is.

“This is completely different to a lake,” said Hew Williams, short track director at British Ice Skating.

“Here we’ve got naturally flooded farmland that’s unique to this area of Britain and… there’s no flowing water underneath. This is still water that’s frozen and it needs to be frozen thick enough to actually be able to skate on.

“On lakes, on rivers, the speed of the water stops the ice from freezing thick enough so that’s what’s unique here.”

He said the maximum depth of the water under the ice was about a foot, or shin-deep.

Laura Upton drove to Welney from Wisbech in Cambridgeshire with her two sons when she heard “on the grapevine” about the ice.

Her father used to sell skates and she has been Fen skating for about 45 years, since she was five.

“We definitely have to make the most of it on a beautiful sunny day like today,” she said.

“We used to roller speed-skate throughout the year to try to be ready for the ice when it used to come.

“It’s great to keep the traditions going; it’s a bit of a natural phenomenon and we’re very lucky.”