Watch moment UK's only venomous snake swims across stream in Scottish Highlands

A ranger in the Scottish Highlands has captured the moment the UK’s only venomous snake made its way across a fast-flowing stream.

Adders are one of just three snakes native to the UK, alongside grass snakes and smooth snakes.

“If you’re lucky enough to see one of these elusive creatures they are usually basking in the sun but one of our rangers captured this amazing footage of one crossing a burn,” the Cairngorms National Park said.

The video shows the adder slithering over stones on the stream’s edge before speedily swimming against the current to cross the water.

It momentarily struggles to find a way out the other side before sliding between two stones.

Although the vipers are the only venomous snake found in the wild in Britain, they aren’t usually considered aggressive unless provoked.

According to the Cairngorms National Park, the name adder comes from the Middle English name for snake – naddre.

While in Gaelic, snake translates to Nathair and with numerous ancient place names across Scotland referring to the reptile, it seems they have co-existed with humans for centuries.

One example is Cnapan Nathraichean, meaning adders’ knoll or knob, another word for a small hill or mound, which can be found on the Balmoral Estate.