
A cold summer in Scotland has led to this incredible natural phenomenon - with ice and snow which still hasn't melted forming a network of icy tunnels and caves clinging to the edge of mountains.

Experts say an unusual mix of circumstances has produced a stunning world of snow tunnels and bridges towering higher than a double-decker buses in the Cairngorms National Park

A range of factors has seen a growing number of snow patches remaining since 2007, but this summer there are more than have been seen for 20 years.

The stunning structures are created when the snow begins to melt, and as water begins to flow underneath, a tunnel of air forms, melting the snow from under it.

The results are these vast caverns, sometimes so big that people can walk underneath, and decorated with melting patterns that look like choppy waves.

Helen Rennie at Ciste Mhearad discovered this amazing cavern at the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. The tunnel, with its dome-like structures inside, goes on for hundreds of metres

A cold summer in Scotland has led to this incredible natural phenomena with remaining ice and snow forming a network of icy tunnels and caves clinging to the edge of mountains

Experts say an unusual mix of circumstances has produced a stunning world of snow tunnels and bridges towering higher than a double-decker buses

Nicholas Adam, stumbled upon this bridge on Tuesday while climbing An Stuc, a mountain in the Ben Lawers range to the north of Loch Tay

A range of factors has seen a growing number of snow patches remaining since 2007, but this summer there are more than have been seen for 20 years

The stunning structures are created when the snow begins to melt. As water begins to flow underneath a tunnel of air forms, melting the snow from underneath