Coate Water Country Park
Encyclopedia
Country park
A country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.-History:In the United Kingdom the term 'Country Park' has a special meaning. There are over 400 Country Parks in England alone . Most Country Parks were designated in the 1970s, under the...
situated 5 km (3.1 mi) to the southeast of central Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, near Junction 15 of the M4
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
. It takes its name from the main feature, a reservoir originally built to provide water for the Wilts and Berks Canal
Wilts and Berks Canal
The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington, near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a branch to the Thames and Severn Canal at Latton near...
.
Coate is the site of a 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) lake, built in 1822 and formed by diverting the River Cole
River Cole, Wiltshire
The River Cole is a tributary of the River Thames in England which flows through Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, where it forms part of the border between the two counties....
. Its primary purpose was to provide water for the Canals and it remained outside the borough until expansion in 1928.
In 1914, with the canal abandoned, Coate became a Pleasure Park
Pleasure gardens
A pleasure garden is usually a garden that is open to the public for recreation. They differ from other public gardens in that they serve as venues for entertainment, variously featuring concert halls or bandstands, rides, zoos, and menageries.-History:...
. Changing rooms and a wooden diving board were added, the board since replaced with today's 33 ft (10.1 m) concrete one in 1935.
Now named officially named Coate Water Country Park, it is both a leisure facility and a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
. Coate Farm, with the Richard Jefferies
Richard Jefferies
John Richard Jefferies was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influence on him and provides the background to all his major works of fiction...
museum, is contained within its environs. Coate Water was the original for the "New Sea," the lake that forms the centrepiece of the fictional adventures of Bevis and Mark in Richard Jefferies
Richard Jefferies
John Richard Jefferies was an English nature writer, noted for his depiction of English rural life in essays, books of natural history, and novels. His childhood on a small Wiltshire farm had a great influence on him and provides the background to all his major works of fiction...
"Bevis"
Primarily for its breeding bird populations, an area of 51.1 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s of the lake and its margins has been notified as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, notification originally taking place in 1971.
Development
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a campus university located in Bath, United Kingdom. It received its Royal Charter in 1966....
published plans to develop land next to the park as a new campus. The university pulled out of the proposals but then left the area vulnerable to the whims of housing developers. Since then Persimmon Homes and Redrow Homes have submitted various planning applications. One was turned down and dismissed at a planning appeal. Another goes to appeal in November 2011. Local residents began a Save Coate campaign at the start and continue to fight to protect the landscape made famous by Richard Jefferies.
The campaigners note that -
"Coate boasts a host of Bronze Age, Romano-British and Medieval history that spans a period of up to about 3000 years. The oldest known ancient monuments at Coate are the Neolithic Stone Circle and the Bronze age burial mound along Day House Lane. However, no less than six Stone Circles have been recorded in the Coate area linked up, in part, by avenues of large Sarsen stones. The remains of one of the stone circles probably still lies at the bottom of the lake at Coate Water whilst other ancient finds are dotted around the area that include evidence of Medieval settlements."and point out that is in conflict with several of Swindon Borough Council's own environmental policies.
A buffer zone around the park was proposed in late 2006, although campaigners and local residents do not think this is enough -
"In a poll, just 20 per cent of readers said they believed that the new plans would help to protect Coate Water." Swindon Advertiser
Swindon Advertiser
The Swindon Advertiser is a daily tabloid newspaper, published in Swindon. The newspaper was founded in 1854, and had a circulation in 2006 of 22,321....
The issue was further compounded when Coate Water was voted "Swindon's Favourite Place" by the local population,.
Protests, including the 2004 "Hands around Coate Water" event, and a petition signed by over 52,000 people have heightened awareness of the campaign.
Birds
Coate Water is a notable site for birds. The following rare-in-Wiltshire species have been recorded there:- Ring-necked DuckRing-necked DuckThe Ring-necked Duck is a smaller diving duck from North America.The adult male is similar in color pattern to the Eurasian Tufted Duck, its relative. It has a grey bill with a white band, a shiny purple head, a white breast, yellow eyes and a dark grey back...
- a first-winter male in January 1998 - Red-throated DiverRed-throated DiverThe Red-throated Loon or Red-throated Diver is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. It breeds primarily in Arctic regions, and winters in northern coastal waters. It is the most widely distributed member of the loon or diver family. Ranging from in length, the Red-throated...
- a juvenile in March 1979 - Black-throated DiverBlack-throated DiverThe Black-throated Loon is a migratory aquatic bird found in the northern hemisphere. The species is known as an Arctic Loon in North America and the Black-throated Diver in Eurasia, its current name is a compromise proposed by the International Ornithological Committee.-Taxonomy:The...
- a non-breeding plumaged adult in February 1978 - Red-necked GrebeRed-necked GrebeThe Red-necked Grebe is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although some birds may winter on large lakes...
- an adult in March/April 1995 - Slavonian GrebeSlavonian GrebeThe Horned Grebe or Slavonian Grebe, Podiceps auritus, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The Slavonian Grebe is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater...
- one in January 1982 - Northern FulmarNorthern FulmarThe Northern Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis, Fulmar, or Arctic Fulmar is a highly abundant sea bird found primarily in subarctic regions of the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans. Fulmars come in one of two color morphs: a light one which is almost entirely white, and a dark one which is...
- one in June 1978 - European Shag - one in September 1993
- Black-crowned Night HeronBlack-crowned Night HeronThe Black-crowned Night Heron commonly abbreviated to just Night Heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia .-Description:Adults are...
- adults in April 1978 and May 1990 - Purple HeronPurple HeronThe Purple Heron is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The European populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa; the more northerly Asian populations also migrate further south within Asia...
- a first-summer bird in May 1981 - Eurasian Spoonbill - two adults in April 1978
- Grey Phalarope - two juveniles in October 1987
- Little AukLittle AukThe Little Auk, or Dovekie , is a small auk, the only member of the genus Alle. It breeds on islands in the high Arctic. There are two subspecies: A. a. alle breeds in Greenland, Iceland, Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen, and A. a...
- one in January 1984 - Rock PipitRock PipitThe Rock Pipit, Anthus petrosus, is a small passerine bird species which breeds on rocky coasts of western Europe northwards from Brittany. It is mainly resident in Ireland, Great Britain and France, in the west of its range, but the Scandinavian and Russian populations migrate south in winter;...
- one in March 1976 - Savi's WarblerSavi's WarblerThe Savi's Warbler, Locustella luscinioides, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in southern Europe into temperate western Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa....
- one in May 1965 - Barred WarblerBarred WarblerThe Barred Warbler is a typical warbler which breeds across temperate regions of central and eastern Europe and western and central Asia. This passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical eastern Africa....
- one in September 1980 - Yellow-browed WarblerYellow-browed WarblerThe Yellow-browed Warbler is a leaf warbler which breeds in temperate Asia. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters mainly in tropical southeast Asia, but also in small numbers in western Europe...
- one in September 1988 - Bearded TitBearded TitThe Bearded Reedling is a peculiar small passerine bird. It is also frequently known as the Bearded Tit due to some similarities to Long-tailed Tits, or Bearded Parrotbill since it was later placed with these after it was removed from the true tits in the family Paridae...
- a pair in October 1982
External links
- English Nature (SSSI information)
- SSSI boundary at English Nature's "Nature on the Map" website
- Coate Water — Swindon Council's guide to the country park.
- CoateWater.com Information and Forum
- Richard Jefferies Museum — Dedicated to the memory of one of England's most individual writers on nature and the countryside, this small museum is a short walk from Coate Water.
- Save Coate - Save Coate Campaign website
- Swindon advertiser - Recent non-development campaign