Newbold Quarry Park is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

Newbold-on-Avon Newbold-on-Avon (usually shortened to just Newbold) is a suburb of Rugby in Warwickshire, England, located around 1½ miles north-west of the town centre, it is adjacent to the River Avon from which the suffix is derived. Newbold was historicall ...

, around 1½ miles north-west of

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

town centre,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It consists of a former water-filled

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envi ...

surrounded by woodlands and covers an area of . It is managed by the

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Warwickshire Wildlife Trust is a Wildlife Trust and Registered Charity covering the county of Warwickshire and Solihull and Coventry in the county of West Midlands, England. The Trust aims to protect and enhance wildlife, natural habitats and ge ...

on behalf of

Rugby Borough Council Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

History

The site was formerly used to quarry for

Blue Lias The Blue Lias is a geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassi ...

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 ...

, in connection with the local

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

industry. Quarrying at the site was initiated in 1877 by the Newbold Lime & Cement Co. Ltd, and several

cement kiln Cement kilns are used for the pyroprocessing stage of manufacture of portland and other types of hydraulic cement, in which calcium carbonate reacts with silica-bearing minerals to form a mixture of calcium silicates. Over a billion tonnes of ...

s operated alongside the quarry. Production ended in 1910, started again briefly in 1920, and was abandoned permanently by 1923 after the quarry flooded. The plant was dismantled in 1927. The derelict quarry was the scene of a tragedy in October 1990 when two local boys aged ten and six drowned after falling into the water, following this, the site was taken over by Rugby Borough Council in 1991 and turned into a nature reserve with improved access, fencing and warning signs. Though 6 weeks after 17-year-old Toby Burwell’s disappearance on 20 February, his body was found in the water on 6 April.

Wildlife

Newbold Quarry Park attracts many water birds, such as

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

moorhen Moorhens—sometimes called marsh hens—are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family (Rallidae). Most species are placed in the genus ''Gallinula'', Latin for "little hen". They are close relatives of coots. They are of ...

s and a variety of ducks. The clean, limey water also support native

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

, which resemble small

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

s. Other species have also been found living in the water including smooth newts, frog tadpoles,

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

and

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

fish species, and also invertebrates living in the soft quarry walls. Bat boxes have also been provided. Other water mammals such as water rats can be seen swimming in the water.

Facilities

The disabled-user toilet is closed due to vandalism - there are no public facilities. The car park on Egerton Close is provided for parking. Entry is free of charge. There are viewing platforms along the blue lime-rich clay spoilbanks, and picnic sites. A number of wild paths have been constructed around the site, some of which are accessible to wheelchairs and pushchairs.

Depth

The quarry is up to deep in places. Skilled Divers exploring it in 2018 discovered, among other dangerous hazards, the remains of two cars dating from the 1970s and 80s, a motorbike, vertical metal beams and an old pram frame. A public space protection order prohibits swimming due to safety concerns. Fishing is also restricted.

References

External links