Britain's 100-foot Kinder Downfall waterfall freezes solid

HAYFIELD, England, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A British man who captured footage of a waterfall frozen solid Wednesday said he quickly abandoned a climbing attempt because the ice was cracking beneath him.

The video shows Will Flanagan exploring the 100-foot Kinder Downfall near Hayfield in the Derbyshire Peak district of England Wednesday morning after several days of sub-zero temperatures finally caused the waterfall to freeze.

"I had to set off at dawn to get up here. I've been watching the overnight temperatures and thought there'd be a chance it would be frozen today," Flanagan said.

"As the sun began to rise the ice started to melt. I could here it cracking beneath my feet and I saw a few giant icicles crash down. So I didn't stay up there very long!" he said. "I definitely wouldn't have wanted to climb any higher up it today even if I'd had ropes with me -- the ice wouldn't have been strong enough to support me. If I'd have arrived any later I wouldn't have risked going all the way up."

"But all the same it was an awesome spectacle and one of the most extreme walks I've ever done," Flanagan said.