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Issue 81 March 2014
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PONDS AND PITS
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Any time of the year was suitable for exploration but the depths of winter or the heights of summer held equal attractions. Many of the pits, ponds and lakes scattered around the open spaces were manmade. Some served to drain the land, others grew by accident but all had a certain magic. Two of my early memories feature two stretches of water in Childwall Valley and Calderstones Park. A big pond off Barnham Drive was used as a playground by local children. Father had also known it in the 1920s. An island stood in
the middle and some boys made a raft to get to their den. Hard winters saw the pond freeze. It was filled in long ago but you can still see an outline where the ground is boggy. An equally fascinating place to me was a group of ponds set among mounds of earth in Calderstones. There were sticklebacks and water beetles in the clear water – the beetles were easy to scoop up and examine. Later this area was landscaped with a bridge and pretty flower beds but it did not have the same sense of the unknown. Calderstones Park lake was created in 1933 by workers employed during the economic depression which saw many out of work. A much older lake
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is in Greenbank Park – a big house once overlooked its calm waters when it was a private estate. A series of ponds called Forty Pits lay off Allerton Road, north of Booker Avenue. The pits filled up after marl – a clay-like rock – was excavated to fertilize crops. This was a popular beauty spot. Princes Park is pictured on an Edwardian postcard showing the area around the lake kept private for the exclusive use of local residents. The outer areas were for the general public. A gentleman strolls towards a bridge that once led to the island. Today the scene is very different with this part of the lake virtually dry and filled with trees and shrubs sprouting from the mud. A particular favourite of mine in re-
STRANGE TALES by Anton Valdemart
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WINING & DINING SECTION MUCH, MUCH MORE… cently-refurbished Sefton Park is a pond next to the grotto where water makes its way gently to the lake. • Learn more about
the history of Liverpool at the M u s e u m o f Liverpool, PierHead, open 10 am to 5 pm every day, admission free.
0151 236 5000 www.gadllp.co.uk