A good frost in Central this morning got me up early and to Poolburn again. Ice had changed a bit since Sunday - a lot more water with an edge melt. Had to go around the main bay to get on. Once on the ice it was good out to the main island, the dam and the far bay. Great to meet up and skate with Clive and his crew from Canterbury. Good fun and good company. Went home via the other side of Ida Valley and had a skate in a new pond. Couldn't resist a short skate on Idaburn as I passed through.
Decided to give Poolburn one more try early this morning and was surprised to find the ice had settled in since last Friday. Not a heavy frost but enough to set the ice and lock it in around the main bay and further out. Plenty of water showing around the back of the island but good ice if you were careful. Great to meet and skate with Inge again - although missed her dog Stone galloping around. We had a great skate around the island, down to the far bay and the dam. Too much water to go anywhere near the long arm. Fab skating on hard ice. Used the long skates for quite a bit which was fun. Warm weather coming so not expecting the ice to last. Track rough but mostly dry.
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Up early to Poolburn this morning to meet Inge and make a most of the ice. Bit of frost overnight has set the ice up well. We had a good long skate out and around the main island and around to the dam. I particularly enjoyed watching the colours change as the sun came up. Had a quick skate on Idaburn main bay on the way home. Ice was pretty good there despite being later in the day.
Up early this morning to skate at the Lower Manorburn. Foggy weather and around zero degrees left the ice a bit weak. Surface was hard but bumpy - good skating with the long skates. Found a bit of weak ice and managed to get a bit wet! Decided to check out Poolburn before heading off. Surprised to find sunshine and good ice in the main bay - though I was a bit late and it did start to creak (in the sun). Skated around the small island and out to the big island. Great skating on crazy pave ice. Not sure what will happen but if there is a good frost tomorrow it may be skate able again. Light wind and warmer when I left. Track is a bit rough.
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| Don't forget these.... |
Quick trip up to Coalpit Dam today for an early morning skate. Most of the dam was good but you needed to choose where to get on as some edges were thinner. Fabulous skating on mostly black ice. Headed home via a pond(s) area at Danseys and skated on ice that was like glass. Fab. Wind was up and warmer temps when I left.
Checked out Poolburn early this morning. Was disappointingly thin but had a quick edge skate before heading over to the Lower Manorburn. Had a fabulous smooth skate over most of the middle basin before people arrived. Good to see others making to most of the ice and great to catch up and chat with Inge. On the way home I checked out the old Dansys Rink area and had a skate on amazingly clear hard ice. There were two ponds to skate on - one with clear ice and the other cloudy brown water but a fab smooth skate. Would have been even better first thing this morning but nice to have skated somewhere new.
Decided to check Poolburn this morning. Most of the lake has ice but it looked like it had all come at once overnight. Hard and strong but too thin to skate. I had a couple of scratchy edge skates then walked to a far bay over the other side of the dam. Found thicker black ice and had a good skate within the bay only. Then went via Idaburn to check out Grey Lake - the only place I knew was in shadow apart from Rush Cutters. Idaburn had fresh ice (some water showing) that may have been skate able early morning but I was too late. I rode into Grey Lake and found black ice and was treated to a fabulous skate. Hard to leave.... Finished the day with a smooth skate out from Rush Cutters.
