The lake at the turn of the 20th century
Ready for The Big Jump - 11th July 2010
| The campaign to maintain public access to Hatchmere Lake, Cheshire. |
Friends of Hatchmere For People and Wildlife |
email: levyacov@gmail.com |
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The lake at the turn of the 20th century |
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Ready for The Big Jump - 11th July 2010 |
 Water safety is often a matter of using common-sense. Robert (above) does just that when taking his kids to open water. The lifejackets (insert) were bought at Home Bargains for £2.99 each. Tragically, many of the victims are young and inexperienced. Water safety education tells them to stay away from inland waters altogether and go to their local public bath (if they can find one) or to supervised seaside beaches (which could be 100 miles away and far more dangerous than their local lake). It is about as effective as telling them to wait until they get married. Furthermore, today's youngsters use the Internet, go abroad and watch TV. They love messing about in natural water and sense that these warnings are illogical. Next, swimming outdoors becomes a ‘cool’ challenge. The blanket warnings are interpreted as applying equally to all inland waters. Why then not visit the nearest reservoir under the cover of darkness and bring along a crate of lager ? When they get into the water they discover that the water is not cold at all – probably around 20C or higher in lowland UK. They venture further from shore and still find the water comfortably warm and there are no currents or cold springs. The water at the centre of a still lake can not be appreciably colder than at the shallows nor can there be any significant currents (See ‘O’ Level physics). Encouraged by these discoveries they egg each other on to swim to the opposite shore. Some may not reach it. Wonder why? Here are some facts - Although water temperature is a key factor in swimming safety, cold water (below say 15C) is only a danger to those who accidentally fall in. Inexperienced swimmers soon find out that the water is cold and stay out. They are most at risk when the temperature is comfortably warm. This is because the body losses heat to the water at a rate 30 times higher than to air. Heat loss takes place at any temperature lower than that of the body and is proportional to the temperature difference. Children and teenagers are particularly at risk because of larger skin surface to body mass ratio. Had our youngsters been taught what effect the ‘warm’ water can have after spending half an hour in the water, they might have decided to stay safe and race along the shore rather than across. Swimming and alcohol are a lethal combination. It is estimated that alcohol plays part in most drownings while swimming in open water .Despite that, water safety warnings and references to incidents where alcohol was known to be consumed, seldom mention it. Learning how to stay safe in the water is an ongoing process. You need to acquire knowledge and apply it to your capability and the waters you swim in. An absolute must is reading advice given by veteran open water swimmers. Click here for the River and Lake Swimming Association safety guidelines. There is much more available online. No matter how strong a swimmer you are, if you are new to UK's open water here are some of the things we think you should never do:
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Hathcmere on a warm Sunday afternoon'Water temperature reached 21C on the 11th May 08 (measured 0.5m below the surface) |
SWIMMING AND FISHING AT HATCHMERE A revised (November 2011) agreement has been reached between Prince Albert Angling Society (PAAS, the resident fishing club) and Friends of Hatchmere (FoH, on behalf of the bathers and swimmers) aimed at achieving a long-lasting, peaceful co-existence therefore making the lake a better place to enjoy. The agreement is not legally binding and relies on individual lake users accepting it voluntarily. All users are kindly requested to follow the guidelines to ensure full and responsible enjoyment of the lake. PAAS and FoH have agreed the following:- To acknowledge each others right to use the lake and work together towards making the site a place for people to enjoy their chosen pursuit without interference. That Anglers will refrain from casting their lines/fishing within the marked area set out for the swimmers when the two activities take place simultaneously. That Swimmers will refrain from deviating from the marked swimming area at all times. The marked area is shown on the right. On the ground it starts from the bay and is then delineated by three painted white posts on the far bank. The centre posts marks the middle of the area and the two extreme posts the boundary of the area. CWT emphasised the following: Whilst The Cheshire Wildlife Trust do not advise swimming in the lake, we respect the rights of others, but swimming in the lake is undertaken solely at the individuals own risk. The Cheshire Wildlife Trust accepts no liability for people engaging in their chosen activity whilst on the site. |
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The site is being updated regularly. Keep in touch with developments. |
| Hatchmere in the past |
See what the lake looked like at the turn of the last century |
| More from the past |
More old pictures |
| Water safety |
Rob Fryer on the dangers in the water - Essential reading for open water swimmers |
| Working party |
Some pictures of the Hatchmere working party |
| Reg Holmes | Undiscovered till now - Reg is a Norley poet, musician,
humorist, rebel and Hatchmere veteran. |
| Post Message | Post a message (River and Lake Swimming Association Message Board) |
| See Messages | River and Lake Swimming Association Message Board |
| The Carriers Inn |
The Carriers Inn - the campaign's birthplace. |
 Cheshire Wildfile Trust |
 River and Lake Swimming |