Parts of Windermere have frozen over for the first time in a decade.
Overnight temperatures have plunged below freezing and a wind chill factor of minus 10 across Cumbria over the past 48 hours.
John Woodburn is operations director at Windermere Lake Cruises.
He said: “This is one of the very few occasions that we’ve seen sections of Windermere start to freeze over in recent years.
“It has been very cold for the past couple of nights and we have seen the ice on the lake gradually increase in thickness and spread.
“However, the strong winds forecast for tomorrow and Sunday will help break the ice up and the milder conditions from the beginning of next week should see all of the ice disappear on Monday.
“The last time we saw this type of scene was in 2009, when we built an ice plough for the bow of one of our ‘Steamers’, MV Tern.
“This enabled us to push the huge chunks of ice away as she sailed past Belle Isle in the centre of the lake.
“On another occasion, in the early 1980s, it was even possible to walk across part of the frozen lake between Lakeside and Fell Foot.
“At that time, I recall one of the team trying to break through an eight-inch layer of ice with an ice pick, but it was frozen solid and as you can imagine, it was a thankless task!”
Due to the national lockdown, Windermere Lake Cruises are not currently sailing, but a small number of the team continue to work daily to carry out essential maintenance.