Leybourne Lakes Country Park

The weather has been weird recently with almost monsoon style rain falling almost daily throughout June and to be honest the first part of this month so it was with great relief I was able to get out and about today. 

I've not been 100% recently as problems with my EDS has meant my neck and shoulders have been permanently screaming with pain and have prevented me doing anything that involves hanging my arms down let alone carrying things. It does make travelling around difficult and pushes me firmly towards my car. Until this flare-up calms down travelling will mean I drive there, park up, walk with as little as I can in my hands or hanging off my shoulders and don't expect to do that without painkillers and a generous coating of volterol gel.

So, the drive over to the lakes is very simple and well signposted. The main entrance is via an exclusive exit from a roundabout and clearly indicated as such when you approach. I drove in and parked up in their car park which has access to the warden's office and some toilets. Looking at the map, there are numerous ways of getting to the lakes; Snodland and New Hythe rail, car or coach and the buses 71, 215, 774, 575 and a few others which serve the lakes from the A228 main road.

 

 For those who might want to have a look at what goes on here, I have enclosed the URL for their website. All information about what goes on, the sort of sports you can take part in, the walks and the connections by rail as well as bus and car, then its all here plus much more. The map you see below is also available on the website. There was indication the Warden's office had paper versions at one time but when I was there these displays were all empty. I'm not sure if that was because they had run out or they were no longer providing paper versions.

 https://www.tmbc.gov.uk/leisure-parks/parks-leisure-facilities

The route I took is called the Ocean walk and is 2.5k long and frequented by numerous dog owners.
 

 The lakes, like many places which have become wetlands and lakes, started life as quarries. When they became redundant they were left to slowly naturalise (more by accident than design) and wildlife had a chance to re-establish itself. At some point Japanese balsam got into the waterways as it has in many places around the UK and began choking out the native plants and animals. It is quite clear there is now a war on this plant and the people who work here are doing their best to remove it and allow a more native habitat to establish. I did see a few examples of the balsam but far less than in their other country park, Haysden in Tonbridge.

 The car park is easy to navigate and the cost is very reasonable ( £1.40 for the first 4 hours and £4 after that). At least, that was the price when I was there. At the time I was there, you could still use cash to feed the meter but notices indicate it will cease to accept cash later this month and to park it is expected we will all have downloaded the RingGo app and registered with them. I have been with Park Mobile until now and I suspect the two apps have merged because once I had downloaded the app and set a new password it seemed to do the rest for me.

So on with the visit. I knew I wouldn't be able to do a great deal as I had already noted the pain in my shoulder muscle. I decided to try it anyway and as the main walk around the lake is only 2.5Km I set off with my small compact camera in the hope I might be able to get a few nice shots of the lake and the water.  Sadly, it wasn't really a day for photography. The light was flat and the sky was filled with that leaden grey which produces a nondescript light. I managed to take a few but most were dismissed as flat, boring and, well just rubbish really. I had a few left, so I have included them here.

All the lakes are interconnected by land bridges which I suspect are the original truck ways back to the main road, weigh bridges and beyond. Now they are wonderful walkways which are wide enough for those small farm trailers pulled by four wheel golfing trolley type vehicles, ferrying the people around with their equipment. Either side of these bridges are some of the lakes all of which serve specific functions; swimming, fishing, subaqua, canoeing, sailing I think and..... well check the website. The one they call the Ocean appears to be the hub for most activities.

In some areas where the banks are less steep, there are dark (and well fenced off) areas which look more like the wetlands one would expect along river banks. As we have had a very wet summer so far this year its hard to tell if this area also dries out as it does in the Haysden lake system (again, another set of disused quarries).

As I walked across one of the land bridges I realised there was a lake on the other side. This one is called Roaden Island lake and would be of great interest for bird watchers. A pair of binoculars would give a wonderful view of the island and I suspect easy sight of many of the nesting water birds. I get the impression people feed the birds as you do find you gain an audience quite quickly.

I do wonder what the vegetation is usually like. As I've said before, there has been an unusual amount of rain and the grasses and other quick, opportunist plants have grown with great vigor. This particular area appears to be a water vole release area with a narrow, wooden bridge and a shallow stream; perfect for voles and similar bank living animals. This year everything has gone mad and what one can see of the stream and perhaps traces of the water voles living there is pretty much obliterated by the reeds.

I love signposts, they act as excellent orientation points. Next time I come I anticipate walking the other way round the walk and taking the path which indicates Neville Park; I am intrigued.

One thing to bear in mind if you come here and that's the geese. They graze the grasslands and are very territorial. If you have a young child or a dog I would think about educating both not to run up and try to scare them or touch them; geese have a nasty nip and its normal for them to draw blood. They looked at me ready to gesture their displeasure at my passing them. The trick is not to look at them and to just walk past, the threat is removed if you avert your gaze. If you stare at them and they stand up tall and open their wings as they walk towards you then walk away. This is not necessarily a good photo opportunity especially if they break into a run :-)

It was only when I got to the end of the walk that the sun broke through the clouds so taking a break I sat in the car and had a cup of coffee. 

On this front, yes there is a cafe by the Ocean lake but when I passed, it seemed to do sweet things, ice cream and drinks. Unlike the cafe in Haysden Park, there wasn't the hot food that I could see or smell; I was glad I had brought my own.