There
are two tracks taking you up to the lagoons, but be advised the area is
still private property and as such you can be prosecuted for trespassing.
There are currently considerations to develop the site into a park for public
access which you can read about here.
The most obvious track is the one next to the football club the other is farther down the road towards Hitchin. Both accesses are also used by the Emergency Services in the event of a problem, and as such any vehicle blocking them is liable to be towed away. Both tracks are 'unmade' and will damage a vehicle if care is not taken; anyway unless you are an official user both are locked to prevent vehicular access.
The track from the football club bears around to the right (behind the club) and then proceeds uphill. There is a split in the track with a left fork taking you to the much smaller Green Lagoon (reserved for fishing), go ahead and you will arrive at the Blue.
There is a grassed area currently used for parking, it is very heavily rutted and again pass with care and please consider others attempting to arrive/leave by not blocking the entrance. Directly ahead of you is a low cliff so do not get close to the edge, it crumbles with ease! To the left you can see the Sailing Club and to the right a fence made from railway track. The rails were used in the fencing because we have to prevent cars from accessing the majority of the site for safety reasons.
As you arrive at the current parking area the Blue Lagoon is in front of you. It appears just like the view you see through a camera lens when you quickly open up to a very wide angle, from a tiny glimpse of blue water to 'fish eye' in seconds, just fantastic.
To the left is the boat club in the North East corner (sailing boats and windsurfers) and as you proceed around to the right you will pass by angling positions dug out into the bankside. The banks as I have said are steep, crumbling, and white in colour.
This is because of high chalk content and again the warning, they are not stable, standing close to the edge is dangerous. You then come to a fence constructed of disused railway line; we used this because of the very real danger presented when people try to take their cars around the water. Please remember we lost three children here in the terrible tragedy of 28th July 2001. Perhaps in the not too distant future there will be public parking in a more suitable location until then we must restrict access.
There
are reed beds and some dense hawthorn and brambles around the banks which
are home to many water birds and some small mammals. The water is so clear
around the edges that we often see large fish swimming close in, and at this
time the patient visitor will also see some large shoals of fish fry, these
of course encourage other residents, the wildfowl feed their young on the
fry as do the visiting Terns and of course the Pike.
Be careful proceeding on foot as the ground is difficult and the right hand edge of the track (next to the Oilseed Rape field) had a deep ditch running along its length.
At the South West corner is a shallow area where we have seen smaller fish, young Tench and Carp often hang out here to bask. You then come to a heavy gate which now has a huge concrete block set in its path. Again this is to try to prevent vehicular access and although it looks very unsightly it is there until we are able to put other measures into place in the future. Over the gate and turn left and you pass along the edge of a currently 'set aside' field with thick bramble and trees bordering the lake to your left. There are a couple of places where it is possible to access the water's edge but beware the local mosquito's, they just love you!
As
you walk along the field you climb a low hill area and the bankside turns
into cliff edge. At this time you will pass the torn up fencing that the Arlesey
Community Safety Group spent much time and money constructing to comply with
the legal requirement placed on the land owner by Mid-Bedfordshire District
Council. After this act of vandalism however it may be that we will have to
look at a much more substantial fence which may not be as pretty.
The water below you is very clear and of course if they are passing by you can see sizeable Pike, Tench and Carp below the surface. These cliffs are sometimes used by people as a place to jump into the water. This has been documented regularly with warnings in the local press stating that it is a really dangerous thing to do. At this time we really do not know what lies beneath the surface; we know we have dumped cars, motorbikes and other dangerous objects under water and those who persist in jumping in not only put their lives at risk but those of the Emergency Services who may have to get them out!
The highest
point of this cliff is known locally as Crane Hill, it is also where the
three children perished in July 2001, hence the requirement for the fence.
Again there are some who enjoy tempting fate by leaping 25 feet or so into
the water below, however as the water level drops in summer this means that
in order to clear the shelf below you must jump out some considerable distance
first, there are photos taken this year of an injured man being helped ashore,
he landed badly! Again the view from here is stunning as you can almost
see all the water and observe much of its wildlife. Watch as the Swifts take
the insects from the water and the Grebe and visiting Terns dive for their
food.
Close to the cliff there is an exceptionally steep track leading to what has been used over the years as a kind of 'beach' area. This is without doubt impassable for anyone who has a problem with walking. Once wet, the ground here is as slippery as if you were on ice! If you have actually managed to get down to the lower area on a wet day, it will prove extremely hard to negotiate your way back up to the cliff top again, you have been warned.
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