Ryton Pools

One of the Ryton Pools

By one of the pools

From the top of a high bank beside a pool

A shale path in the park

Ryton Pools are the remains of a landfill site southwest of the village of Ryton on Dunsmore in Warwickshire, which have been transformed from a wasteland to an attractive country park opened to public recreation.

The park, which is run by the local councils, occupies an area of about 100 acres and contains four pools, the largest of which covers approximately 10 acres. Ryton Woods, beside the country park, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest nature reserve owned by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust that is also open to the public. Professional park rangers are employed to look after the varied flora and fauna of the park as well as the general maintenance of pathways and buildings.

Creation

The park was a set of fields until 1965 when the land was purchased and used as a landfill site for the nearby towns of Leamington Spa, Rugby and Coventry. Waste was dumped there for 27 years until 1992 when work started on developing part of the site into a country park, which included the flooding of the pits.

The park officially opened in 1996 with over 2,500 trees and shrubs being planted. In the late 1990s the remainder of the landfill site was filled in and new pools were created, as well as the provision of several portable metal cabins to act as information centres. These were superseded by better and more permanent wooden ones in 2002, although the metal ones are still in use.

Facilities

Facilities at the park include a visitor centre/café and gift shop, two children's play areas for different ages of children, a bird hide,miles of pathed and unpathed walks, and fishing facilities and a miniature railway run by the Coventry Model Engineering Society. The railway is around 2,000 feet long, with the journey lasting around 6 minutes or so: trains are steam-hauled or diesel powered.

The park also organises events for children such as parties, birds of prey spotting, "creepy crawly club", nest box building, and "prams in the park" (walking for parents with babies). There is a bird hide located by one of the pools where visitors can observe the wildlife in relative quite.

Energy from methane

A methane-powered electricity generator is situated in the park. It uses the methane which results from the decomposition of the organic rubbish that was dumped nearby when the area was used as a landfill site. In one year it provides the National Grid with enough electricity to run the equivalent of 18 secondary schools or roughly 2,000 houses. Information about the project, which is intended primarily for school children but interesting for adults too, is available within the generator building where there is also an opportunity to see the generators themselves.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Ryton Pools)

• Location map: 52°20’58"N, 1°27’14"W
• Ryton Pools information on the Warwickshire County Council website
• Ryton Pools fishing information
• Warwickshire Wildlife Trust website