Rare icy sight at Hampton Court Palace
THE moat surrounding Hampton Court Palace has frozen over for the first time in at least a decade, with more snow expected to fall next week.
Officials said that it was an extremely rare occurrence for the moat at the palace in south-west London, which is usually dry, to flood and freeze.
Tom O’leary, the director of public engagement for Historic Royal Palaces, shared a photograph of the unusual scene on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday morning.
He wrote: “So thanks to wet weather the rare sight of a full Hampton Court Moat continues, and we have ice. Not going to risk a skate quite yet.”
The clay-lined moat, built by Cardinal Wolsey in the 16th century, was designed as an ornamental feature rather than a defensive one. During King Henry VIII’S reign, it served as a tidal sluice to wash away effluent from the palace’s former public lavatories.
Recently, England has experienced weeks of intense rainfall, flooding more than 1,800 properties in England. The Met Office has predicted more snow to fall next week, with a new Arctic blast set to bring more wintry conditions to Britain. More than 100 flood warnings remain in place, along with an amber cold health alert for the North West, the West Midlands, the East Midlands, the South East and the South West, which lasts until tomorrow afternoon.
Will Lang, the Met Office’s head of situational awareness, said: “There will be a resurgence in the really cold weather through the weekend, and that spreads across the whole of the UK during the early part of next week.
“Initially, this means there will be more in the way of showers around the coasts, turning increasingly to snow for many areas, especially further north.”