Cosmeston Lakes Country Park is a public country park in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, owned and managed by

Vale of Glamorgan Council The Vale of Glamorgan Council is the governing body for the Vale of Glamorgan, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. It was run by the Conservative Party after the 2008 United Kingdom local elections, taking over the council from no overall contr ...

. It is situated between Penarth and

Sully, Vale of Glamorgan Sully ( cy, Sili) is a village in the community of Sully and Lavernock, in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the northern coast of the Bristol Channel, midway between the towns of Penarth and Barry and 7 miles (11.3 kilometres) southwest of ...

, 7.3 miles (11.7 kilometres) from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. On 1 May 2013 the country park was designated a Local Nature Reserve. Parts are

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. The park, visitor centre, and cafe are open all year round.

General

The main feature at this country park are the two large lakes divided by a bridge on the main footpath 'mile road'. The country park has a variety of habitats covering over 100 hectares of land and water, with some areas designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest, protecting the rare and diverse plant and animal species.Cosmeston Lakes Country Park
Vale of Glamorgan Council. Retrieved 31 January 2016. Within the country park

Cosmeston Medieval Village Cosmeston Medieval Village is a living history medieval village near Lavernock in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Based upon remains discovered during a 1980s archaeology, archaeological dig in the grounds of Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, it is a ...

can be found.

Park history

The park is located on land that was once the enclosed fields of croft farms. The farming would have been poor because of the underlying

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and the land being kept permanently wet by many natural springs. The site was a commercial

quarry operation owned by the

British Portland Cement British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Manufacturers and later

Blue Circle Blue Circle Industries was a British public company manufacturing cement. It was founded in 1900 as the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers Ltd through the fusion of 24 cement works, mostly around on the Thames and Medway estuaries, toget ...

. Development started in 1886 and production commenced in 1889.Cement Kilns Penarth
Cementkilns.co.uk. Retrieved 14 March 2018. The quarries here provided

for the large cement works that stood until 1970 on the site of the present Cosmeston housing estate opposite the country park. The peak year of production was 1962, when 175,000 tons of cement were manufactured.History of Cosmeston
Vale of Glamorgan Council. Retrieved 14 March 2018. Many of the early paving slabs laid in Penarth were made from the ‘Dragon’ brand of cement. The works finally shut in November 1969. The quarries were closed in June 1970. The only factory building left standing today is the ''Ego at The Schooner Inn'' restaurant, previously a '' Harvester'' chain restaurant. Once quarrying ceased two of the excavated sites were used for landfill and the remaining two naturally flooded creating the lakes that are seen today. The park was subsequently developed and opened in 1978, through funding from the

Countryside Commission The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commissio ...

. A circular path was created around the lake, with boardwalks constructed over the wetland areas. It was during the laying of the paths, thinning of dense undergrowth and general landscaping that the remains of the former village were found, excavated, and developed into a visitor attraction. The park shares its eastern boundary with the historic

Glamorganshire Golf Club Glamorganshire Golf Club is located in Lower Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, 7.3 miles (11.7 kilometres) south west from the capital city of Cardiff and is one of the oldest golf clubs in Wales. The club was founded by the Earl of Plym ...

Swans at Comeston Lakes Country Park (geograph 232385)

Facilities

Facilities at the park include car parking, coach parking, picnic benches, adventure play area, facilities for cleaning boats after being on the water, barbecue areas for hire, plus an information centre with cafe and ice cream kiosk. The lake is populated by a wide range of

water fowl The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating ...

, including

swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

mallards The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

, grebes, and

coots Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

etc. The Eastern half of the lake is open for hire to non motorised water sports clubs affiliated with the

. The Ranger Service Cosmeston Lakes Country Park offers an environmental education programme to primary schools and other groups all year round, run by the Ranger Service.

References

External links

County Park Website

{{Vale of Glamorgan Penarth Parks in the Vale of Glamorgan Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Vale of Glamorgan Country parks in Wales Quarries in Wales