IN PICTURES: York Ice Trail is back - and it's brilliant!

The York Ice Trail 2024 is back, for this weekend only.

And with temperatures touching 10 degrees in the city centre early this afternoon, some were looking a little hot and bothered.

The magnificent ice dragon outside the Judges Lodgings was certainly sweating a little – with drops of water running off his chin.

The ice dragon at Judges Lodgings (Image: Stephen Lewis)

So was the hydra – a writing multi-headed mythical beast at the Minster end of Goodramgate.

A ‘Minster lion’ caught in a sun trap at the foot of York Minster near the Constantine statue was catching the heat most, a puddle of water gathering around his feet.

But the warm weather couldn't distract from just how brilliant this year’s sculptures are. And for the crowds who thronged to see them today, it was probably a blessing.

A 'writhing knot of intertwined heads' - the hydra (Image: Stephen Lewis)

The hydra's many heads (Image: Stephen Lewis)

There are 33 ice sculptures on display across the city centre all told.

The dragon outside the Judges Lodgings was one of the most popular, 'judging' by the crowds who gathered to view it.

It was carved in the act of pulling a coach – the kind of coach normally driven by horses that would, in the past, have been used to bring circuit judges to their evening lodgings.

It's head was reared up, it's wings half opened as if about to spring into the air.

The dragon outside Judges Lodgings (Image: Stephen Lewis)

Also popular was the hydra – a writhing knot of snake-like heads with their necks entwined that stood at the corner of Goodramgate and Deangate.

In St Helen’s Square, children were enjoying posing with their heads poking through a hole in the middle of a winged statue that represented York’s Park & Ride service.

Children being photographed with their heads peering through the winged sculpture representing York Park & Ride (Image: Stephen Lewis)

For those who wanted to watch ice carvers actually at work, meanwhile,  carvers from Ice Box were actually at work on blocks of ice in St Sampson’s Square, while an enthralled audience looked on.

Ice carvers at work in St Sampson's Square (Image: Stephen Lewis)

An ice carver at work in St Sampson's Square (Image: Make it York)

Perhaps the most stunning carving of all, however, was a giant ice Fabergé Egg outside Bradley’s Jewellers in Low Petergate.

It had been beautifully carved, a magnificent oval of flawless, crystalline ice. Entombed at its heart, for those who looked closely, was a jewelled Robin redbreast - a splash of vivid red in the body of the ice.

The giant ice Fabergé Egg in Low Petergate - with the jewelled Robin Redbreast at its heart... (Image: Stephen Lewis)

The Ice Trail, organised by Make it York and supported by businesses across the city centre, runs throughout today and tomorrow.

You can download a map at visityork.org/york-ice-trail, or pick up a paper copy in the city centre.

The National Railway Museum's ice sculpture of a steam train near the Minster (Image: Stephen Lewis)

Sarah Loftus, managing director of Make It York, said: “York Ice Trail is a beautiful event loved by residents and visitors alike.

“Our ice partners, Icebox, have also done an incredible job at creating these ice sculptures and bringing the ideas to life.”

A 'floating dreams' ice sculpture of cake-like structures outside Lucia's Bar on Grape Lane (Image: Stephen Lewis)

Last year’s event saw more than 40,000 visitors enter York to see the 36 ice sculptures that lined the streets.

Judging by the crowds in York today, this year's even might prove equally popular...