A PHOTOGRAPHER has captured rare images of the Fairy Pools in Skye almost completely frozen over.
Adrian Trendall, who lives just minutes away in Glen Brittle where the Scottish beauty spot is located, said it was rare for most parts of the pools to be completely frozen.
The 57-year-old tackled bitter winds and piercing frost to set up his tripod on the frozen ice overlooking the Cuillin mountain range on Saturday.
Incredible shots show the once-flowing water completely frozen in motion as it hung downwards towards the main pool.
Thick sheets of ice encase the surrounding rocks while the snow covered Cuillin Hills are shown in the background.
Other shots show just small pools of unfrozen water remaining at the lower parts of the picturesque location.
Adrian, who is originally from Bristol but has lived in Skye for four years, also captured the magical moment on video.
Despite being a veteraned mountain guide, Trendall was forced to kneel to capture his shots due to the high winds.
He held the same position for so long that his legs froze to the glacial pool.
Adrian posted his shots on Facebook yesterday, writing: “A series of low waterfalls cut across the river against a backdrop of jagged Black Cuillin peaks with the volcano like Sgurr an Fheadain centre stage.
“The normally easy walk was a bit of a nightmare and several times the wind was blasting enough to almost knock me over.
“Several times I just stopped and knelt down until things eased off.
“As they say, don’t try this at home but I was out on the ice so as to attain a central position, one that in summer would require wellies.
“The wind did it’s best to scour me from the smooth ice and the only way to make any progress was to crawl using the metal tips of my tripod to dig in the ice.
“After taking a lot of photos it was time to go but movement was impossible. The knees of my trousers had frozen to the ice.”
He rounds up his post with a light jib at the notorious stampede of tourists that the pools usually attract, adding: “Luckily I was able to free myself otherwise it would have been a cold, trouserless journey back to the car.
“At least there weren’t hordes of people about to see me.”
Adrian’s spectacular images and video attracted hundreds of comments on Facebook.
Rosemary Hale commented: “Phenomenal photographs Adrian.”
Caroline Henderson said: “Oh bloomin wow!”
Elizabeth Ball said: “A great video though.
“It certainly is a wild winter wonderland. Coffee and cake would have been really appreciated when you get home.”
Paul Hooper wrote: “Incredible, again thank you.”
And John Stenhouse commented: “Life in the freezer.”
Speaking today, Adrian said: “[It] often freezes over but its rare to be almost totally frozen.”
