Swans in the swim (From Stroud News and Journal)

Swans in the swim

SWANS braved the deep freeze on the Stroudwater Canal this week.

While the rest of us were scraping frost off our windscreens and negotiating slippery pavements News & Journal photographer Mark Watkins captured this majestic pair of swans enjoying the winter wonderland on the canal at Wallbridge.

The thick ice proved a tempting skating rink for smaller water birds but the swans quickly monopolised a pool which had formed in the middle of the canal.

The usually-scruffy stretch of Cheapside canal was transformed into a winter wonderland by a dusting of frost and overnight flurry of snow.

A warm-hearted bypasser had been so worried about the chilly swans getting cold feet on the ice they called Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust with their concerns.

"We did send somebody out," said a spokesman for the trust. "But the swans were fine."