THERE was a crisp, cold start to 2009, as these stunning images by M.E.N photographers show.

In Sale city centre canal boats stayed put after the water froze over and fog descended on the town on Thursday.

But walkers, joggers, cyclists and families keen to get a breath of fresh 2009 air were out in force at beauty spots across Greater Manchester.

In Rochdale the town hall was shrouded in white mist, but as the sunshine broke through a twinkling blanket of ice emerged covering trees, lakes and fields.

At Stamford Park in Tameside, birds waddled across the frozen boating lake looking for a break in the ice.

Meanwhile at Reddish Vale Country Park Canada geese and swans hoped between ice and small pockets of open water to meet walkers with bags of bread standing at the banks.

At Alexandra Park in Oldham the sun beamed through the frost coated branches of the trees and walkers marvelled at the carpet of white which covered Clifton Country Park in Salford.

The windmill at Haigh Country Park and the fish pond near Rivington in Bolton also drew visitors keen to stretch their legs after Christmas.

Families visiting Heaton Park on the Manchester Bury border came wrapped up well against the cold.

 And the city centre was a sea of hats and scarves with shoppers willing to braving the cold to get their hands on sale bargains and fun-seekers preparing to take the plunge on the temporary Snowslope ride in Piccadilly gardens.

The cold weather is set to continue over the weekend prompting calls for commuters to take extra care driving in to work on Monday.

After temperatures plummeted to around -6 last night, Met Office weather forecasters were predicting severe frost and frozen fog patches across parts of Greater Manchester during the next few days.

A spokesman for the Met Office said the temperatures would rise to -2 and -1 over the weekend which is slightly below the average for this time of year.

But she said scattered rain showers would creep in on Sunday night as well as a drop in the night-time temperatures to -3 or -4, which could result in treacherous ice patches.

She said: "In the early part of next week the temperatures won't get above 3 or 4 degrees even during the day time. Commuters coming into work on Monday will need to take extra care because the rain due late on Sunday will be falling on frozen ground creating ice patches."

She added: "These temperatures are below the average for the North West at this time of year. According to our records which look at the average temperatures between 1971 and 2000 the minimum temperature was -9 degrees and the maximum was 6.1 degrees."

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