Bosherston Lakes and Lily Ponds, Stackpole National Nature Reserve, Pembrokeshire
The Bosherston Lakes on the Stackpole Estate were created by the Earls of Cawdor between 1780 and 1860. The lakes occupy three converging valleys carved by glacial meltwater out of the carboniferous limestone plateau of south-west Pembrokeshire. At first the Cawdors only dammed the easternmost valley to create a lake to set off their mansion. Even this caused problems, as the water kept disappearing through cracks in the karstic limestone. They brought in a canal engineer, James Cockshutt, to sort out the problems, and one evening in 1794 he had a vision. He took an evening walk down to Broadhaven Beach, and coinciding with a high spring tide he came upon, “to my surprise… a beautiful sheet of water covering the whole Haven…I could not view it without awakening a hearty wish to see a Head [dam] constructed that should constantly retain the same appearance….” The result was the Bosherston Lakes, or Lily Ponds as they are known locally, finally completed in 1860. The house itself was demolished by the Cawdors in 1963. By the 1970’s, after a century of war, social upheaval and neglect the lakes had become part of a wildlife habitat now qualifying for SAC status many times over for their charophyte communities, otters, dragonflies, birds and bats. The National Trust and Nature Conservancy Council (now the Countryside Council for Wales) have both been involved since 1976, the one acquiring the Stackpole Estate and the other declaring Stackpole National Nature Reserve. We have worked closely together ever since.
Size: 5120px × 3413px
Location: Bosherston Lakes and Lily Ponds, Stackpole National Nature Reserve, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Photo credit: © Chris Baker / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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