Millie finds a skate way to keep training
Pitlochry teen Millie Dingwall (14) skates on the ice at the Highland Perthshire town’s recreation ground where she found a frozen puddle just big enough to practice on.
Her mum Judith told the PA the outdoor fun was just what her daughter was needing with so many things cancelled at the moment.
“Millie was due to be on a senior pupil school skiing trip with Pitlochry High School this week and was sad the trip obviously had to be cancelled,”she said.
“She was looking forward to taking her skates for an evening on a rink there, which was part of the itinerary.
“So when she came home from a walk with a friend on Saturday and declared she had found a patch of ice at the side of the rugby pitch at Pitlochry Recreation Park, we were sceptical but went down with her on Sunday to investigate.
“And she was right. It was such a fluke. It really was a tiny patch but allowed her to get back into her skates after a break of 11 months and she enjoyed two pretty special days practising and ice dancing before the rain melted the ice.
“Millie has enjoyed skating since she first went to a learn to skate session at Dewar’s Ice Rink in Perth when she was about seven years old.
“In normal times she skates every few weeks at Perth Figure Skating Club run by coach Moira Robertson but they are only able to use the ice at Dewar’s Ice Rink when the curling isn’t on, so its not regular.
“For a year she travelled to Kirkcaldy for lessons but the distance was just too far for our family here in Pitlochry, so we really lucked out to find this on our doorstep this week.”