Andrew Simpson: Who’d think there was a dam in Lymm

Friday 8 September 2023

Who’d think there was a dam in Lymm

Now I have lived in the north long enough to think of a dam as one of those giant Victorian constructions, that reach up to the sky and hold back vast amounts of water.

And as if to cement that idea last Easter we spent a holiday beside the Howden Dam in the High Peaks. The Airbnb was just feet away from a vertical stone wall which was all the more impressive given just how much imprisoned water wish and washed on the other side of the dam.*

But not all dams are Victorian and not all dams hold back enough water to supply a city.

Last week on a whim we went to Lymm. First port of call was the pub,** followed by a walk through the graveyard of St Mary’s and by degree along the Slitten Brook through the wooded Dinlge and out into the village.

But the highlight of the walk was the Lymm Dam which my Wikipedia tells me “is a dam and lake in Lymm, Cheshire, England, an inset village in the greenbelt around Warrington.

It was created in 1824 by a dam built during the construction of what is now the A56 road, when local inhabitants objected to initial plans for a route through the village centre.

It may have been used to supply power to local industry, and the surrounding area.

Warrington Borough Council began managing the Lymm Dam and its park in the early 1980s.

At that time there were considerable erosion problems, and the Ranger Service began to upgrade the existing path network and take over the park maintenance.

It is now a popular visitor attraction, which has won several Green Flag Awards for its improvements to the infrastructure and ecology of the dam”.***

And it really is a magic place to spend some time and catch the right angle and there is the tower of St Mary’s peeking out from the trees.