Cosmeston Park
Encyclopedia
Cosmeston Lakes Country Park is a public country park
in Britain. It is situated between Lower Penarth
and Sully, Vale of Glamorgan
, 7.3 miles (11.7 kilometres) from Cardiff
. The park is open all year and access is free, but its visitor centre is usually closed in winter.
. It is located next to the site of Cosmeston Medieval Village
. The reconstruction of this 14th-century village, discovered during the landscaping of the park, has been described as the best of its kind in Britain. Altogether there are almost 250 acres (1 km²) of lakes, woodland and country walks in the park.
From the 1890s until 1970 the site was a commercial limestone quarry operation, serving the Snocem Concrete Factory just across the road. The deep quarry was constantly wet from the many active water sources and had to be permanently pumped dry. When the concrete factory closed and was converted into The Schooner public house and Harvester restaurant, pumping ceased and the main quarry was allowed to fill with water, quickly becoming the lake and wetlands seen today. The lake is very deep, in places as deep as fifty or sixty feet, with steep sides almost at the water's edge particularly on the Penarth and Dinas Powys sides of the lake. During quarry operations the large Scammell dumper lorries and cranes working on the quarry bottom and in the many side tunnels were dwarved by the quarry sides towering above them.
The park was subsequently developed through funding from the Countryside Commission
. A circular path was constructed around the lake, in some places on raised duckboards and bridges through the shallow reed beds at the Lavernock end of the Lake. 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
.
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...
in Britain. It is situated between Lower Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
and Sully, Vale of Glamorgan
Sully, Vale of Glamorgan
Sully is a village 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 southwest of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.-Medieval Sully:...
, 7.3 miles (11.7 kilometres) from Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. The park is open all year and access is free, but its visitor centre is usually closed in winter.
General
At its centre the park features a large lakeLake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
. It is located next to the site of Cosmeston Medieval Village
Cosmeston Medieval Village
Cosmeston Medieval Village is a "living history" medieval village near Lavernock in the Vale of Glamorgan not far from Penarth and Cardiff in south Wales...
. The reconstruction of this 14th-century village, discovered during the landscaping of the park, has been described as the best of its kind in Britain. Altogether there are almost 250 acres (1 km²) of lakes, woodland and country walks in the park.
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 combination of underlying limestone with being kept permanently wet by many natural springs.From the 1890s until 1970 the site was a commercial limestone quarry operation, serving the Snocem Concrete Factory just across the road. The deep quarry was constantly wet from the many active water sources and had to be permanently pumped dry. When the concrete factory closed and was converted into The Schooner public house and Harvester restaurant, pumping ceased and the main quarry was allowed to fill with water, quickly becoming the lake and wetlands seen today. The lake is very deep, in places as deep as fifty or sixty feet, with steep sides almost at the water's edge particularly on the Penarth and Dinas Powys sides of the lake. During quarry operations the large Scammell dumper lorries and cranes working on the quarry bottom and in the many side tunnels were dwarved by the quarry sides towering above them.
The park was subsequently developed through funding from the Countryside Commission
Countryside Commission
The Countryside Commission was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only...
. A circular path was constructed around the lake, in some places on raised duckboards and bridges through the shallow reed beds at the Lavernock end of the Lake. 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
Glamorganshire Golf Club is located in Lower Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, 7.3 miles south west from the capital city of Cardiff and is one of the oldest golf clubs in Wales...
.