Deep Hayes Country Park is a country park in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, England. It is about south-west of

Leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

, a short distance south of the

A53 road The A53 is a primary route in the English Midlands, that runs from Buxton in Derbyshire to Shrewsbury in Shropshire. Route of Road The A53 begins in the centre of Buxton off the A6 road, before meeting the A515 road at a roundabout. Out of the ...

Longsdon Longsdon is a village and civil parish in the Staffordshire Moorlands district of Staffordshire, England, about southwest of Leek, on the A53 road. Civil parish The civil parish was created in 1894. (Formerly Longsdon was part of a civil par ...

. Its area is ."Deep Hayes Country Park"
Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 10 June 2023. Its northern boundary is the

Caldon Canal Caldon Canal is a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal which opened in 1779. It runs from Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, to Froghall, Staffordshire. The canal has 17 locks and the Froghall Tunnel. History The first plans by the proprietors of the ...

, and is based around three pools (Cumberledge Pool, Park Pool and Hayes Pool), formerly a reservoir. There is a visitor centre, with free parking and toilets. Marked pathways, of varying lengths, lead around the area of the former reservoir. There is a picnic area."Deep Hayes Country Park"

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland Natural heritage, heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972 ...

. Retrieved 10 June 2023. The pools have shoreline rushes and other flora; waterfowl can be seen. Roach, tench and carp have been introduced, and there are invertebrates including dragonflies and damselflies. There is woodland around the pools, and meadows, which have a diversity of flowering plants, including uncommon species. There is a

bird hide A bird hide (blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commo ...

History

Deep Hayes Reservoir was built in 1848 by the Staffordshire Potteries Waterworks Company. The company in 1847 built works to take water from a spring at Wall Grange, up to 1.5 million gallons a day, to supply water to the Potteries; the reservoir compensated for the loss of this water which served mills downstream along the

River Churnet The River Churnet is a river in Staffordshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Dove. Etymology The origins of the name "Churnet" are unknown, though it is thought to derive from the pre-English, British name for the river. Course ...

."Deep Hayes Country Park". Leaflet obtained at the visitor centre. In 1979 problems were found with the structure of the dam, and the

Severn Trent Water Authority Severn Trent Water Authority was one of ten regional water authorities established in 1974. Its area of operation was the catchments of the River Trent and River Severn. It assumed the powers and responsibilities of existing water supply author ...

decided to abandon the reservoir, a new borehole providing the compensating water. A project to create a country park was agreed by the water authority,

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Coun ...

and 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 ...

. From the lowered water level, three pools, Cumberledge Pool, Park Pool and Hayes Pool, were created, around which the present-day environment was established.

References

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External links

"Deep Hayes Country Park"
GPS Cycle and Walking Routes Leek, Staffordshire Country parks in Staffordshire