Spend a day visiting Lymm Dam, amid peaceful and picturesque surrounds. Wander through woodland areas, enjoy scenic views from lakefront platforms and follow a trail that leads around Lymm village.
Lymm Dam was created in 1824 during the construction of a road that travels around the outskirts of the village. A ranger service began in the 1980s and the lake and its park have since won several Green Flag Awards for maintenance and conservation.
A combination of natural and boardwalk trails wrap around the shores of the lake and pass through woodland made up of beech, ash, oak and sycamore trees. You’ll meet everyone from couples and families, to dog walkers and mountain bikers. At the southern end of the lake, the Wishing Bridge crosses a small waterfall. Visitors of all ages will enjoy looking for wildflowers, faces carved into tree trunks and some interesting sandstone boulders.
A range of habitats allow varied wildlife to flourish in and around the lake. See kingfishers, lesser spotted woodpeckers and treecreepers plus wildfowl such as coots, grebes and mallards. Squirrels are common, as are pipistrelle bats, which can be seen on warm summer evenings. Bream, catfish and carp are some of the species you can catch with a fishing permit.
The Lymm Heritage Trail is a way-marked 3.5-mile (5.6-kilometer) loop trail that circles the park before exploring other natural areas of the village. Walk on the banks of a stream to Slitten Gorge, the site of the remains of an 18th-century slitting mill. Discover sections of the Bridgewater Canal and the Trans Pennine Trail, the latter a coast-to-coast route across northern England. Return to the dam and visit 150-year-old St. Mary’s Church.
Lymm Dam is accessible throughout the year. Travel here by walking for about 15 minutes from the center of the village. Free parking is available on the road at the northern edge of the lake.
