Tilgate Lake is the biggest of three lakes at Tilgate Park, and remains a popular water activity centre and tourist attraction in

Crawley Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

.Tilgate Lake has a wide variety of outdoor activities open to the general public, such as

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

raft building A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barre ...

, rowing,

running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

, standup paddleboarding, Open water swimming, team building, navigational challenges, tree climbing and zip trekking. Tilgate Lake, Tilgate Park, Crawley - geograph

Tilgate Lake, Tilgate Park, Crawley - geograph

Tilgate Lake Dam Project 2011

As part of the ''Upper Mole Flood Alleviation Scheme'', the raising of the dam at Tilgate Lake was completed in 2011, to provide additional flood storage, protecting hundreds of homes vulnerable to flooding in

Furnace Green Furnace Green is one of 14 neighbourhoods in Crawley in West Sussex, England, and a local government ward. Furnace Green is located to the east of the town centre. It is bordered by Tilgate to the south west, Three Bridges to the north and Maidenb ...

Pound Hill Pound Hill is one of 14 neighbourhoods within the town of Crawley in West Sussex, England. Pound Hill is located on the east of Crawley. It is bordered by Three Bridges and Manor Royal to the west and Maidenbower to the south. It is the largest ...

Three Bridges Three Bridges may refer to: England *Three Bridges, West Sussex, a neighbourhood within the town of Crawley **Three Bridges F.C., an association football team **Three Bridges railway station **Three Bridges depot, a rail depot * Three Bridges, Linc ...

Tinsley Green Tinsley Green is an area in the Borough of Crawley, one of seven local government districts in the English county of West Sussex. Originally a hamlet in the parish of Worth, it was absorbed by the New Town of Crawley in the 1940s and became par ...

and Horley.

Tilgate Park Watersports Centre

Crawley Borough Council have created a water sports activity centre at the lake in Tilgate Park as a central feature of

Boating and sailing

Available for hire (2019) are

rowing boat Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word ''qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each se ...

s and

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

s stand up paddle boards and

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

s. The latest up and coming sport is standup paddleboarding which is very popular. Sailing boats were formerly available to hire from 'Dynamic adventures' but ceased in 2017, for Laser Pico's, Toppers, Optimists and a

Wayfarer A wayfarer is a person who travels on foot. It may also refer to: Literature * ''The Wayfarer'' (novel), a 1912 novel by Natsume Sōseki * ''Wayfarer'', a book in the ''Faery Rebels'' series by Canadian author R. J. Anderson * ''Wayfarers,'' a s ...

for holders of a RYA level 2 or above qualification.

Mountain biking

A variety of forest trails have been established for both beginners and experienced riders through

Tilgate Forest Tilgate Forest is a Local Nature Reserve in Crawley in West Sussex. It is owned and managed by Crawley Borough Council and is part of Tilgate Park. This site has woods, tall herb and fern, and heathland. The most common trees in areas of natural ...

, under the banner of the British Schools Cycling Association (BSCA).

Go Ape

Go Ape Go Ape! is an outdoor adventure company which runs tree top ropes courses under the names Tree Top Challenge, Tree Top Adventure and Zip Trekking, as well as ground-based Forest Segway Safaris, at locations across the United Kingdom and the United ...

is tree climbing and zip trekking adventure park constructed in the tree tops of Tilgate Park. The course is constructed of rope ladders, zip-lines, rope bridges, trapezes and swings and is located above the lake near to the former "Inn on the park" (Now Smith & Western). The Inn in the Park, Tilgate Park, Crawley - geograph

The Inn in the Park, Tilgate Park, Crawley - geograph

Park Run

A 5K (five kilometre) park run takes place every week in which part of the course circumnavigates the whole of Tilgate lake. Up to 300 runners take part in the run and the event has been in progress since 9 June 2013. The record fastest times run by a male have been Neil Boniface in 15 minutes 39 seconds on 21 Sept 2013, Nick Duggan 15 minutes 38 seconds on 26 July 2014. Neil Boniface again in 15 minutes 32 seconds on 21 June 2014, and then by James Westlake of 15 minutes and 31 seconds on 15 July 2017, the best ever time was run by James Westlake on 14 April 2018, and is the current record (to 2020) of 15 minutes and 13 seconds. In the ladies, Fiona Clark set the pace with 18 minutes 14 seconds on 16 June 2012, which was beaten by Hannah Brooks setting the best ever ladies time (to 2020) of 17 minutes 50 seconds on 29 September 2012. This time was run close twice by Julie Briggs on 1 June 2013 and 21 June 2014 recording 18 minutes and 6 seconds on both occasions.

Angling

This is a day ticket water with tickets available form

Crawley Borough Council Crawley Borough Council is the local authority for the borough of Crawley, in the county of West Sussex, England. The council consists of 35 councillors, either two or three for each of the 13 wards in the district. It is currently controlled by th ...

with many fish species available to be caught at Tilgate lake, including

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

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 ...

to over 30 lb,

tench The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also ...

and

bronze bream The common bream, freshwater bream, bream, bronze bream, carp bream or sweaty bream (''Abramis brama''), is a European species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is now considered to be the only species in the genus ''Abramis''. ...

to 7 lb,

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 ...

crucian carp The crucian carp (''Carassius carassius'') is a medium-sized member of the common carp family Cyprinidae. It occurs widely in northern European regions. Its name derives from the Low German ''karusse'' or ''karutze'', possibly from Medieval Lat ...

roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roach ...

and

rudd ''Scardinius'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for individual species, particularly the common rudd (''S. erythrophthalmus''). Th ...

. The largest known carp successfully landed at Tilgate was 34lb 8oz caught by Clive Sharpe in 2006. The largest known pike ever captured from Tilgate was 32lb 8oz caught by C.Voss in 1986. The largest known tench on record is a fine 6lb 8oz specimen landed by Nick Ardley in 2006.

Swimming

Tilgate lake is recognised as an official NOWCA venue for open water swimming. Open water swimming vents are still organised by the councils appointed hosts: Tilgate Park water Sports, in 2020 an event named the Aquathon, for which 'Race 1' is a 500 metre swim + a 5,000 meter run, and 'Race 2' is a 1000 metre swim + a 10,000 meter run. All swimmers compulsorily wear a NOWCA Safety Wristband when they swim, which is scanned on entering and exiting the lake for safety reasons, and recording time and distance.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Tilgate Park Watersports Centre

Park Run

Crawley Angling Society

Go Ape - Crawley
Crawley Outdoor recreation