The eco centre
Liverside lakes
Tarmac, the company that owns Quarryville, has a long record of restoring quarries and creating nature reserves.
Liverside Lakes is the largest area of open water in Quarry County. In winter it provides an important home for many ducks, geese and swans (wildfowl).
The three Liverside Lakes were created in the 1980s, when gravel was dug from the Liverside quarry to make the new Quarryville to London main road. It was gradually restored as the quarry’s life came to end – the land was refilled with waste and then left to naturally fill with water.
The water at Liverside is fed from underground aquifers. The aquifers are sandstone rocks containing water that can be used to supply wells or, in this case, large lakes.
The water stays at a pretty constant temperature. In winter it’s a bit warmer than water draining off the land. This means that the lake is less likely to freeze in a cold spell and will be more likely to provide a reliable source of food throughout the winter (water weeds and invertebrates are more likely to be growing and active).
Birds prefer quiet places to live and feed, so Tarmac put screens around the edges of the lakes. This stops disturbance from people as they’re walking along the paths to the three observation posts which overlook the lakes.
Liverside is an ideal spot for birdwatching – the kids from Quarryville School can’t wait to go there!
Here’s what they might see at different times of the year:
- Wildfowl in winter
- Singing warblers and great-crested grebes in spring
- Dragonflies and migrant birds such as waders in late summer