Olympian Linda Bernard, 72, takes to the natural ice at Welney on Saturday 17 December 2022, as people gather to skate outdoors as conditions allow following several days of freezing weather.

Olympian Linda Bernard, 72, takes to the natural ice at Welney on Saturday 17 December 2022.
Credit: Cat Goryn / shotbywomen

Linda competed in the pairs event at the 1968 Winter Olympics.

Following the Olympics, Linda took a break from skating for 45 years, returning to the ice in 2018 encouraged by friends following the death of her husband. Since then she has performed at a few invitationals. Although she hadn't skated a Welney before she did natural ice skating in Wimbledon as a child.

As well as locals, some travelled for hours to take advantage of this rare occurrence where the climate allows the safe skating on wetlands ice in the fens, with many there experiencing it for the first time.

The flooded areas are often no deeper than six inches and Fen Skating has been a traditional sport in the area for over 200 years.

Locals at Welney are proud that the reason the National Skating Association came to be established in Cambridge in 1879 was because of a local skater.

Locals at Earith are proud that ice hockey has a strong link to the area through Bury Fen Bandy Club.