Dearnford Lake

The beautiful lake and features at Dearnford Lake originally began as the result of a new road - the Whitchurch bypass. The new road needed sand and gravels and a site was identified to supply these on land owned by the Bebbington family at Dearnford. The extraction work - which began in 1991 - created a gaping hole, and this was seen as an opportunity by the Bebbingtons to create a lake. Fisheries scientist Dr Bruno Broughton was consulted. He advised the local water quality was most suitable for trout and so a fly fishing water was born. Extensive landscaping took place to create islands, shallows, deep bays and gently sloping banks, which were then planted with grass and wildflowers. In 1993, the Lake opened initially as a private syndicate water and in 1994 as a day ticket water. The wooden lodge was built in 2007. The lodge was used for events and was converted to a café business in April 2011. Fishing ceased on the Lake in 2013 but it has now become the hub for other activities such as open water swimming.