Tilgate Lake | |
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Location | Tilgate Park, Crawley, West Sussex, England |
Coordinates | 51°05′42″N0°10′30″W / 51.095°N 0.175°W Coordinates: 51°05′42″N0°10′30″W / 51.095°N 0.175°W |
Type | lake |
Tilgate Lake is the biggest of three lakes at Tilgate Park, and remains a popular water activity centre and tourist attraction in Crawley, West Sussex.Tilgate Lake has a wide variety of outdoor activities open to the general public, such as archery, canoeing, fishing, kayaking, mountain biking, raft building, rowing, running, sailing, standup paddleboarding, Open water swimming, team building, navigational challenges, tree climbing and zip trekking.
As part of the Upper Mole Flood Alleviation Scheme, the raising of the dam at Tilgate Lake was completed in 2011, [1] to provide additional flood storage, protecting hundreds of homes vulnerable to flooding in Furnace Green, Pound Hill, Three Bridges, Tinsley Green and Horley. [2]
Crawley Borough Council have created a water sports activity centre at the lake in Tilgate Park as a central feature of Crawley. [3] activities available at Tilgate Watersports are: Bike Hire, Canoeing Courses, Boat Hire, Angling Membership, Boat & Board Membership, Open Water Swimming and Orienteering. [4]
Available for hire (2019) are rowing boats, kayaks and canoes stand up paddle boards and mountain bikes. [3] The latest up and coming sport is standup paddleboarding which is very popular. [3]
Sailing boats were formerly available to hire from 'Dynamic adventures' but ceased in 2017, for Laser Pico's, Toppers, Optimists and a Wayfarer for holders of a RYA level 2 or above qualification. [5]
A variety of forest trails have been established for both beginners and experienced riders through Tilgate Forest, under the banner of the British Schools Cycling Association (BSCA). [3]
Go Ape is tree climbing and zip trekking adventure park constructed in the tree tops of Tilgate Park. The course is constructed of rope ladders, zip-lines, rope bridges, trapezes and swings and is located above the lake near to the former "Inn on the park" (Now Smith & Western). [6]
A 5K (five kilometre) park run takes place every week in which part of the course circumnavigates the whole of Tilgate lake, to Titmus lake, back to Tilgate lake. [7] Around 400 runners take part in the run each week, and the event has been in progress since 9 June 2013. [7]
The record fastest times run by a male have been Neil Boniface in 15 minutes 39 seconds on 21 Sept 2013, Nick Duggan 15 minutes 38 seconds on 26 July 2014. [8] Neil Boniface again in 15 minutes 32 seconds on 21 June 2014, [9] and then by James Westlake of 15 minutes and 31 seconds on 15 July 2017, the best ever time was run by James Westlake on 14 April 2018, and is the current record (to 2020) of 15 minutes and 13 seconds. [10]
In the ladies, Fiona Clark set the pace with 18 minutes 14 seconds on 16 June 2012, [11] which was beaten by Hannah Brooks setting the best ever ladies time (to 2020) of 17 minutes 50 seconds on 29 September 2012. [12] This time was run close twice by Julie Briggs on 1 June 2013 and 21 June 2014 recording 18 minutes and 6 seconds on both occasions. [13]
In nearly 10 years since its beginning in June 2013 (to March 25, 2023), there have been 498 events, [7] an average 394 runners per week. [7] 18,704 participants, [7] each finishing an average of 10.5 runs each, 196,347 finishes in total. [7]
This is a day ticket water with tickets available form Crawley Borough Council with many fish species available to be caught at Tilgate lake, including carp, pike to over 30 lb, [14] tench and bronze bream to 7 lb, perch, crucian carp, roach and rudd. [15] The largest known carp successfully landed at Tilgate was 34lb 8oz caught by Clive Sharpe in 2006. [16] The largest known pike ever captured from Tilgate was 32lb 8oz caught by C.Voss in 1986. [16] The largest known tench on record is a fine 6lb 8oz specimen landed by Nick Ardley in 2006. [17]
Tilgate lake is recognised as an official NOWCA venue for open water swimming. [18] Open water swimming vents are still organised by the councils appointed hosts: Tilgate Park water Sports, in 2020 an event named the Aquathon, for which 'Race 1' is a 500 metre swim + a 5,000 meter run, and 'Race 2' is a 1000 metre swim + a 10,000 meter run. [19] All swimmers compulsorily wear a NOWCA Safety Wristband when they swim, which is scanned on entering and exiting the lake for safety reasons, and recording time and distance. [18] [19]
The Serpentine is a 40-acre (16 ha) recreational lake in Hyde Park, London, England, created in 1730 at the behest of Queen Caroline. Although it is common to refer to the entire body of water as the Serpentine, strictly the name refers only to the eastern half of the lake. Serpentine Bridge, which marks the boundary between Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, also marks the Serpentine's western boundary; the long and narrow western half of the lake is known as the Long Water. The Serpentine takes its name from its snakelike, curving shape, although it only has one bend.
Kingsbury Water Park is a country park in north Warwickshire, England, not far from Birmingham and lying on the River Tame. It is owned and managed by Warwickshire County Council. It has fifteen lakes situated in over 600 acres (2.4 km2) of country park. It is renowned for its birdlife, and is popular with birdwatchers. It is bordered on the western edge by the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.
Strathclyde Country Park is a country park located on the outskirts of Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, named after the former Strathclyde region of Scotland. It is often commonly referred to as Strathclyde, or simply Strathy.
Dinton Pastures Country Park is a country park in the civil parish of St Nicholas Hurst, in the borough of Wokingham, near Reading in the English county of Berkshire.
Caversham Lakes is a set of lakes created through gravel extraction between the suburb of Caversham in Reading, Berkshire and the hamlet of Sonning Eye in Oxfordshire, just north of the River Thames and also refers to the sports buildings and facilities alongside those lakes.
Millhouses Park is a public urban park located in the Millhouses neighbourhood in south of Sheffield, England. It is a 12.87-hectare (31.8-acre) park stretching approximately 0.75 miles (1.2 km) along the floor of the valley of the River Sheaf, sandwiched between Abbeydale Road South (A621) and the railway tracks of the Midland Main Line.
Green Lake — also known as Big Green Lake — is a lake in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, United States. Green Lake has a maximum depth of 237 ft (72 m), making it the deepest natural inland lake in Wisconsin and the second largest by volume. The lake covers 29.72 km2 and has an average depth of 30.48 m (100.0 ft). Green Lake has 43.94 km (27.30 mi) of diverse shoreline, ranging from sandstone bluffs to marshes.
Spruce Run Recreation Area is a 1,290-acre (5.2 km2) New Jersey state recreation area located in Union Township and Clinton Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. It encompasses the Spruce Run Reservoir that is used as a backup reservoir to protect the state from prolonged droughts. The reservoir is the third largest in the state, after Round Valley and Wanaque Reservoir. The reservoir is used for recreation purposes, including hunting, fishing, boating and swimming.
Tilgate Park is a large recreational park situated south of Tilgate, South-East Crawley. It is the largest and most popular park in the area.
Barcombe Mills is a small settlement and an area of countryside including a local nature reserve near the village of Barcombe Cross in East Sussex, England. It is located in the civil parish of Barcombe in the Lewes District. It is an important area for its wildlife, natural environment and water storage. The River Ouse and Andrew's Stream, one of its tributaries and popular for fishing, flow through the area and Barcombe Reservoir is adjacent. The area includes a small hamlet and some farms, including Barcombe House, and a water treatment works.
Hatchmere is a small mere and nature reserve in Delamere Forest, southeast of Frodsham, Cheshire, England. It is also the name of a hamlet near the village of Norley.
The Gatwick Stream is a tributary of the River Mole in southern England. The Gatwick Stream rises in Worth Forest below Clays lake in West Sussex, flows northwards through Tilgate Forest, alongside Tilgate golf course, through Maidenbower, Three Bridges, and Tinsley Green to meet the River Mole on the border between West Sussex and Surrey.
Broadwater Park is a cricket ground during the summer, and football ground through winter, located in Farncombe, Surrey.
Tilgate Nature Centre is a small BIAZA-accredited zoo located within Tilgate Park in Tilgate Forest, South-East Crawley, West Sussex, England. The nature centre holds 144 different animal species, and are actively involved in breeding programmes to preserve many threatened wild species from extinction.
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 259 days.
This list is of the heaviest European freshwater fish caught using the traditional angling method of rod and line.
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