Families Take To Amsterdam's Frozen Canals For Ice Skating

It's easy to moan about the bad weather but rather than complaining, why not strap your skates on and make the most of it instead?

That's exactly what some Amsterdam residents have been doing, using the opportunity to skate down the city's frozen canals.

Dozens of men, women and children took to the ice and glided along the Prinsengracht canal - some people even took their dogs out on the frozen water.

Water authorities imposed a ban on boats on some of the city's canals this week and closed locks to help the ice develop.

With the freezing temperatures set to continue into the weekend, it's likely that even more places around the city will become suitable for skating.

The KNSB skating union keeps track of where outdoor rinks and frozen lakes are open to skaters but says that extreme caution should still be exercised in many places.

These families aren't the only ones enjoying the recent spate of cold weather, of course. Over in Edinburgh Zoo some of the animal residents are having the time of their lives - particularly the penguins.

Obviously this is the perfect setting for them. While the facility may be closed to the public right now, staff are still required to feed the animals and have noticed the small birds are buzzing over all the snow inside their enclosure.

The zoo tweeted: "The weather conditions may have been challenging for us humans, but they didn't stop this gentoo penguin from enjoying the #snowday2018!"

Gentoo penguins are typically found on sub-Antarctic islands, including the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and Kerguelen Islands, which obviously have very cold climates.