Stanborough Park
The Lakes at Stanborough Park were opened in 1970. They are man made and were built as a result of gravel extraction at the time of the building of the A1(M) Motorway, although the thought of a riverside park had been considered since the Master Plan of 1949.
The Boating Lake (the north lake) at Stanborough is 4.6 hectares in size. It is a shallow lake, under one metre in depth with several small islands.
The boating lake is fed by water from the River Lea at its north end and from a spring. Excess water flows over a weir back into the river at the south end. Coarse fish such as carp are bred in the boating lake and fishing is banned here.
The Sailing Lake (the south lake) is 6.2 hectares in size. This lake has no islands but is deeper than the boating lake, more than 2m deep in places.
Unlike the Boating Lake the Sailing Lake is ground water fed. Before the lakes were built the River Lea used to flow through part of the Sailing Lake but it was re-directed to the west side. Many water sport activities take place here, including sailing, windsurfing and angling.
To find out more visit the Stanborough Park website
