Nostalgia: An icy blast from the past

While Edinburgh has escaped the worst of the bad weather, the cold snap has led to black ice on roads, cancelled flights and the closure of a secondary school.

Fortunately, the Capital’s main roads have been kept well gritted to avoid cars being abandoned or getting stranded.

In 1978, a kind traffic warden helped a motorist stranded on North Bridge by pushing his car up the hill.

Traffic on The Mound was brought to a standstill during an unexpected snowstorm in April 1968, with drivers forced out of their cars in a bid to free them from the snow.

An Easter blizzard also brought chaos to the Capital in 1963. Many people find getting around on foot the best option during treacherous driving conditions.

Back in January 1987, a mum was photographed negotiating large slushy puddles while doing her shopping with two young children on Princes Street.

The city’s main shopping street turned to slush as the thaw began, following heavy snowfall that month.

But snow and ice doesn’t always cause misery for everyone – children are always delighted when they see the first flickers of snowflakes falling.

Youngsters across the country have enjoyed building snowmen and sledging this week, following in the snowy footsteps of generations of children before them, including three fearless boys who enjoyed attacking the ice as they walked out on to St Margaret’s Loch in Holyrood Park during the winter of 1959.