Manvers Lake
Manvers Lake is situated in the Dearne Valley just north of the town of Wath upon Dearne. Before the Dissolution of the Mines there existed here the biggest, dirtiest coal complex anywhere in Britain - Manvers Main. The complex consisted of the collieries, coke works, tips, slurry lagoons, coal conveyors, cnal wharves and a huge set of railway sidings including Wath Concentration Yard. These are all gone now and a lot of money has been spent turning the site into something quite different. It was intended to form another country park but it was sold to big business instead.
This is now called the Waterfront Development and is being developed by TCN UK on the site around the lake. 285 acres (113 hectares) is being regenerated to provide:–
- 471 homes, comprising a mix of two, three and four bedroom houses, and one and two bedroom apartments.
- Business park with a range of office and industrial units.
- Leisure park, including extreme sports, health club, family restaurants, bingo and creche.
- Three-star business hotel
- Nine hole pay-and-play golf course and driving range. Now open.
- Boating club-house.
- Medical centre.
- Neighbourhood retail units, including small shops, such as a pharmacy and newsagent.
All this and in the floodplain of the River Dearne as well!
Manvers Lake is now an Olympics training base for the British canoeing team for the 2012 Olympic Games. There is a boathouse which was officially opened in 2011 and seems very popular. The lake also accommodates triathlon, kayaking, model boats and coarse angling.
There are walks around the lake which join up with the Trans Pennine Trail somewhere on the north side along the River Dearne. You can carry on up to Elsecar in the north, or along to Old Moor if you walk far enough west.
The monument to the Town of Wath was still there the last time I looked though parts have been demolished over time.
New trees and shrubs, such as service and dogwood, have been planted all over the area: ones that thrive in the poor soil and the often claggy mud. The lake supports large quantifies of both resident and over-wintering birds. In Spring 2011 the midge populations were quite spectacular: I am told that they are called St Mark's flies as they appear around St Mark's day. The dragonfliez around the lake are usually impressive but in 2011 due to the long periods of dry weather these Devil's Darning Needles have been scarce. For an old pit tip with poor soil the variety of wild flowers is impressive.