Hollingworth Lake - Activities

Activities

The lake supports watersports like sailing, windsurfing, canoeing, swimming, rafting, rowing and fishing. Since 1989, Hollingworth Lake Water Activity Centre has offered tuition in outdoor activities, including kayaking, canoeing, power boating and sailing. In summer, visitors can hire rowing boats. The centre used to operate a 34-foot (10 m) launch The Lady Alice at weekends during the summer months to provide trips around the lake, but the boat has been out of service since 2009.

The scenic walk, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) around the lake, passes a nature reserve with a bird hide in the south-western corner of the lake, in an area from which boats and watersports are excluded. The lake provides habitat for a variety of wildlife and is used for fishing. The variety of fish has been expanded by stocking the lake with carp, tench and roach, in addition to those introduced in 1863. The country park is used for activities for children, who catch various types of pond life. The path around the lake is a gravel track from the Beach Hotel to the far side of the Lake, and then follows Rakewood Road and Hollingworth Road. A children's playground and trim trail for adults known as the Woodland Enviro Gym situated where the path joins Rakewood Road, was opened on 7 August 2010. The facility was funded by the Big Lottery Community Spaces fund, and was the idea of the Friends of Hollingworth Lake, a group working to improve the facilities, which was set up as an informal society in November 2007, but was registered as a private company limited by guarantee in May 2010 to enable it to handle grant applications.

Lake users have included:

• Hollingworth Lake Rowing Club, whose yearly regatta has attracted many other clubs since it was first held in 1964. The club was re-formed in 1872 after its initial demise.
• Hollingworth Lake Sailing Club, which was founded in 1946, and offers six classes of dinghy sailing.
• The Sea Cadets training centre "T.S. Palatine", located on the south side of the lake, was opened on 16 May 1960 by Lord Derby, and offered training in rowing, sculling and seamanship. Despite providing training for around 1,500 young people each year, the Sea Cadets took the decision to close the centre from 30 April 2011, as the organisation would be better served in the north west of England by the new Crosby Lakeside Adventure Centre.

To the east, a visitor centre shows children's artwork and objects found in the lake. The annual Easter fun fair runs from the Thursday before Easter until the following Sunday, on a car park by the lake.