Ryton Pools Country Park
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| Ryton Woods SSSI | |
|---|---|
| Area of Search | United Kingdom |
| Grid Reference | SP373725 |
| Interest | Wildlife |
| Area | West Midlands |
| Notification | 1995 |
Ryton Pools Country Park is a country park one mile (1.6 km) south west of the village of Ryton on Dunsmore in Warwickshire, England. The park occupies an area of about 100 acres (0.40 km²) and contains four pools, the largest of which covers approximately 10 acres. Ryton Woods, situated next to 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.
The park is run by Warwickshire County Council with half in Rugby Borough and half in Warwick District boundary.
The area of the park containing the pools is almost totally flat and suitable for wheelchair access. However there are steeper gradients in the Ryton Wood nature reserve which, combined with the rougher tracks, make it less suitable for wheelchair users.
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[edit] History
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 These were superseded by better and more permanent wooden ones in 2002, although the metal ones are still in use.
[edit] Facilities
The grounds have official opening times which vary according to the seasons; however, visitors can enter the park on-foot outside these hours if they wish. There are two car parks in the park, and there is currently a flat rate charge of £1.50 for any vehicle to enter the park. Public transport to the park is extremely limited.
Facilities at the park include a visitor centre/cafe and gift shop, two children's play areas for different ages of children, a bird hide, a 610 metre long miniature railway ran by the Coventry Model Engineering Society, miles of pathed and unpathed walks, and fishing facilities.
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 mothers with babies). There is a bird hide located by one of the quieter pools which provides "twitchers" the quiet needed to spot various species.
[edit] 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 UK 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.
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