Pictures capture icy beauty of frozen lake
ASTUNNING collection of photographs capture the eerie beauty of a lake wrapped in ice.
The images of Hollingworth Lake were taken by amateur photographer Jon Bower.
The popular beauty spot was transformed by the recent freezing conditions.
Although the lake itself did not freeze over, water whipped up by gusts of driving wind onto the shore created an almost lunar landscape.
Jon, 46, who lives with his wife in nearby Smithy Bridge, took the photographs on Saturday, when there had been a degree of thawing from the heavy snowfall of the days before.
He said: “It’s very cold up there but incredibly beautiful as well. My hands were absolutely freezing taking the shots, but the views were breathtaking.
“We have lived here for 11 years and it is the worst I have ever seen it. It was just amazing really, although quite treacherous too.
“We had a walk around and I just took what I saw.”
The images show trees and plants encased in ice.
Metal steps leading to a jetty near the water activity centre, and railings around the lakeside, are wrapped in huge horizontal icicles caused by the freezing winds. Strange, bubble-like ice formations have also appeared on the shoreline.
The nearby town of Milnrow was one of the worst-hit areas in Greater Manchester as the conditions led to the full closure of the M62, which runs across a viaduct overlooking Hollingworth Lake.
The 130-acre reservoir itself was completed in 1800 originally as the main water source for the Rochdale Canal, but developed as a tourist resort from the 1860s.
Four years later, the first water began to flow into the newly-opened canal.
The lake is believed to have frozen over several times, most recently in the ultra-severe winters of 1947 and 1963.
In the winter of 1860/61 a cricket match was reportedly played on the ice on the lake between Littleborough and Rochdale, with all the players on skates.
And 1879 saw another unusual event staged at Hollingworth Lake, when a pony and trap was reportedly driven across the lake’s thick ice.