Hope Mill bridge

Enjoyed a pleasant Boxing Day walk along the canal today, admiring the wildlife battling with the elements.

Sheep were trying to achieve the impossible by grazing through the thick snow, while a huge heron glided gracefully over our heads on the lookout for food.

He then played a cat and mouse game as I tried to get close enough to his landing place near Hope Mill bridge to get a decent photo. Every time I got within range, he was off again. He won the game easily.

The ice looked very thick and there's always that temptation to stand on it to test its strength. Bootprints revealed that others before us had tried.

Get it wrong, though, and it's no exaggeration to say that you might not be long for this world.

But there was evidence that walkers had tested its strength by lobbing bricks onto it - the bricks sat there with barely a dent on the surface of the ice sheet. It must have been several inches thick in places.

The snowy canal presented a beautiful vista and you could almost hear the silence. But it was bitterly cold and the light started to fade as we made our way home. It was nice to be back in the warm.

I'm now preparing to return to the daily grind. Back to Bristol tonight and work tomorrow. Groan!