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Earlswood Lakes is the modern name for three man-made reservoirs which were built in the 1820s at Earlswood in Warwickshire, England, to supply water to the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. They still supply the canal, and also provide leisure facilities, including sailing, fishing, and walking. The northern banks of the lakes form the borough and county boundary with the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull and the West Midlands.
The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal runs from Kings Norton Junction on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal to the River Avon at Stratford-upon-Avon. About halfway along at Kingswood is a junction with the Grand Union Canal. The initial 9.75 miles (15.6 km) to Hockley Heath is level, but after that, the canal drops through 55 locks on its way to Stratford-upon-Avon. In order to supply water to the system, the Earlswood Lakes were constructed in the 1820s. Construction took nearly 5 years to complete, and the labour force included prisoners of war from the Napoleonic wars.The cost of construction was £297,000. [1]
Being so near to Birmingham, the lakes proved attractive to visitors from the city from the early 1900s, and their popularity has been maintained, with recent improvements to the facilities which they provide. The Lakes railway station was built to bring tourists to the area and is on the Birmingham to Stratford line. [1]
The three reservoirs are called Engine Pool, Windmill Pool and Terry's Pool, and a Grade II listed engine house is located beside the Engine Pool. [1] The lakes cover 25 acres (10 ha), 25 acres (10 ha) and 20 acres (8.1 ha) respectively. The lakes are fed by tributaries of the River Blythe, and in turn outfall into that river also.
Fishermen at the lake had reported having their lines cut and had witnessed attacks on ducks by a creature branded in the press as the Earlswood Lake Monster. Previously believed to be a cryptid the creature was in fact an Alligator snapping turtle, proved when a carp fisherman caught a 33 pound (16 kilo) specimen on 2 September 2008. The turtle is not native to the UK and it is believed it was previously a pet, released into the lake when it became too big for its owner. The fisherman released the turtle back into the lake, however it was caught again two years later by a different fisherman, and sent to West Midland Safari Park in Worcestershire, where it is now on display and part of a captive breeding programme. [2] [3] [4]
The lakes were managed by British Waterways, but in 1997, the Earlswood Lakes Partnership was formed, with additional representation from the Waterways Trust and the Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. [5] This body has responsibility for the management of the lakes, which now provide a variety of recreational activities.
All three lakes are stocked with fish and are popular both locally, and as a venue for fishing matches. Prior to 1999, the fish stocks were mainly Bream and Roach and were unmanaged, but with a decline in the call for fishing of this type, major changes were made. The Engine Pool was drained to a very low level, and all of the large bream were moved to the Windmill pool, while the rest of the fish were moved to local canals. The pool was then refilled and stocked with five tons of Carp in 2000. New car parks, walkways and fishing platforms were constructed, to improve the facilities, and these are well-used, although the platforms are less useful during the summer months when the water levels drop, as water is used to feed the canal. [6] Engine pool was drained in late 2017 after the Canal and River Trust became aware that it contained a population of invasive catfish. All the fish were removed, and the reservoir was then refilled and restocked. It re-opened for fishing in early 2020, and the restocking programme was expected to have released 40,000 carp weighing an average of 8 ounces (230 g) by 2021. [7]
The Engine Pool contains mainly carp, and has flourished, to the extent that it held the UK five-hour match record in 2000, when 414 lb (188 kg) of fish were caught in a five-hour period. Bream, together with roach and perch can be caught in the Windmill Pool, although care is needed as the pool is also home to a sailing club. Terry's Pool is still an unmanaged fishery, containing bream, roach and perch, together with pike and some carp. [6]
Windmill Pool is the home to the Earlswood Lakes Sailing Club, which was formed in 1963, by R Lewis, and as of 2020, has around 120 members. Most modern classes of boat can be sailed, including Merlin-Rocket, Enterprise, National 12, Laser, Toppers, Mirrors and Solos. Sailing by young people from 8 to 15 years of age is encouraged, using boats in the Optimist or Topper class. The sailing club have a clubhouse which overlooks the pool. [8]
The managing Partnership was awarded a grant from the Local Heritage Initiative in 2002, which resulted in the upgrading of pathways around the site, to create a trail around the lakes, much of which is accessible to mobility-impaired users. Leaflets and children's activity sheets have been produced, together with marker posts to aid the interpretation of the site. [9]
The Earlswood Lakes Craft Centre was established in 1981, when it was part of Manor Farm. Mr Terry Osborne sold it to a major company from Stratford. It has since become autonomous, changing its name and ownership in 2001, and currently contains 23 units providing a wide range of craft products. [10]
Terry's Pool is a wildlife reserve, and the whole area has a rich variety of plant and animal life. This includes Pipistrellus and Daubenton's bats, muntjac deer, [11] and more recently, otters. [12]
Many varieties of plant and tree life can be found in and around the shores of the lakes and the water channels. Plants such as Angelica , great willowherb, amphibious bistort, betony, gipsywort and yellow flag iris are all common to the area. Many water loving willow trees can be seen around the lakes, these are managed to promote new growth and more willow trees. [12]
As of 2010, there are signs that otters frequent the Engine Pool, and there are hopes that breeding pairs will make it their permanent home. An unwanted pest however is the mink that have escaped or been released from fur farms and have found their way onto the lakes via the network of rivers and canals in the area. [12]
Terry's Pool is bounded at its western edge by the Clowes Wood and New Fallings Coppice site of special scientific interest (notified in 1973). The Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon railway line runs through the middle of the 45.3 hectares (111.9 acres) site. The ancient woodlands are excellent examples of lowland mixed oakwoods, and support a large and important breeding bird population. Forty-nine species of woodland bird breed in Clowes Wood, including all three species of woodpecker and six species of tits, including willow tit. Also the wood warbler, lesser whitethroat and grasshopper warbler breed regularly along with five other species of warbler. Predators include Eurasian sparrowhawks, common kestrels and the tawny owl. [13]
The River Avon in central England flows generally southwestwards and is a major left-bank tributary of the River Severn, of which it is the easternmost. It is also known as the Warwickshire Avon or Shakespeare's Avon, to distinguish it from several other rivers of the same name in the United Kingdom.
The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England. The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for 25.5 miles (41.0 km) in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal. Following acquisition by a railway company in 1856, it gradually declined, the southern section being un-navigable by 1945, and the northern section little better.
The River Blythe flows through the English Midlands from central Warwickshire, through the Borough of Solihull and on to Coleshill in north Warwickshire. It runs along the Meriden Gap in the Midlands Plateau, is fed by the River Cole and is a tributary of the River Tame beside the West Midland Bird Club's Ladywalk reserve. This then joins the River Trent, whose waters reach the North Sea via the Humber Estuary.
Hollingworth Lake is a 130-acre (53 ha) reservoir at Smithy Bridge in Littleborough, Greater Manchester, England. It was originally built as the main water source for the Rochdale Canal, but developed as a tourist resort from the 1860s. Hotels were built around it, helped by the arrival of the railway in 1839, which brought day-trippers and weekend visitors from Manchester, Bradford and Leeds.
Lifford Reservoir in the Kings Norton district of Birmingham, England was built by the Worcester & Birmingham Canal company in 1815 to compensate Lifford Mill for water lost to the canal. It is located at the junction of the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal and is on the River Rea Cycle Route. Angling is permitted subject to a charge outside the spring close season. Fish in the reservoir include tench, carp, pike, eels, perch, roach and bream.
Hockley Heath is a large village and civil parish in the Arden area mostly within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, West Midlands, England, incorporating the hamlet of Nuthurst, with a history dating back to the year 705 AD as a wood owned by Worcester Cathedral. The parish, known as Nuthurst cum Hockley Heath, is to the south of the West Midlands conurbation, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Birmingham 5.5 miles (8.9 km) from Solihull town centre and 12.5 miles (20.1 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon. The village forms part of the border with Warwickshire and the District of Stratford-on-Avon to the south, with some parts of the village on either side of the border. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 6,771, being measured at the 2011 Census as 2,038.
The common bream, freshwater bream, bream, bronze bream, carp bream or sweaty bream, is a European species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is now considered to be the only species in the genus Abramis.
Richard Stuart Walker was an English angler.
Wilmcote railway station serves the village of Wilmcote, about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England. The station is run by West Midlands Trains. It is served by both West Midlands Railway and Chiltern Railways trains.
Earlswood railway station is located on the western fringe of the village of Earlswood on the West Midlands/Warwickshire border in England. The platforms straddle the county border, with the approach road on the West Midlands side. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by West Midlands Trains.
The Lakes is a railway station located on the North Warwickshire Line in the north of Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. The nearest settlement is the village of Earlswood.
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Earlswood is a small village in Warwickshire, England in the Tanworth-in-Arden Civil parish of the Stratford-on-Avon District. However, the northernmost part of the village lies within Tidbury Green parish in the Solihull Metropolitan Borough of the West Midlands. A hamlet called Warings Green also lies in the south east of the village, with the northernmost point crossing into the parish of Cheswick Green in the borough of`Solihull. The village's postal code, B94, is in the Birmingham postcode area. It is in the ecclesiastical parish of St Patrick, Salter Street. The village is surrounded by farmland and forests and it gives its name to Earlswood Lakes as well as to Earlswood railway station, even though The Lakes railway station is located closer to the main part of the village.
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Tring Reservoirs is a group of four reservoirs close to Tring on the border of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, England. Their purpose is to feed the Grand Union Canal.
Knypersley Reservoir near Biddulph, Staffordshire, England, was built in 1827 to supply water to the Caldon Canal, along with two others at Stanley Pool and Rudyard Lake.
This is an impartial and comprehensive record list of 294 British record freshwater fish, past and present, involving 59 different species/sub-species of fish caught using the traditional angling method of rod and line. Records to include the angler, species, weight, date, venue, also referenced with a recognizable publication. The list is intended to include all categories of fish caught by anglers, that enter freshwater including and some migratory sea fish. The time since last record fish was caught is 2 days.
Fen Drayton Lakes is a complex of lakes, lagoons, ponds and a river, situated close to Fen Drayton, Holywell and Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, England. The complex was formerly a gravel extraction site until 1992 when gravel production ceased and the pits were allowed to flood to provide a nature reserve and bird sanctuary.
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