9 minute read
TALLINGTON LAKES
Terrific Tallington
Tallington Lakes celebrated its 40th anniversary this May and Mary was one of its earliest skiers
WELL IT’S OFFICIAL; I am old. I knew it anyway (well, had a strong suspicion) but to fi nd out that allington akes is years old has ust nailed the last hammer in the co n of my lost youth hirty eight years ago used to water ski at some old gravel pits which were the fairly newly opened allington akes here was nothing there but large expanses of water. You towed your boat to the lake edge and launched it from its trailer here were no changing rooms or anything like that. You used to put your wetsuit on hiding behind your car. e weren t the only friends doing this here were uite a few people up there skiing ha ing fun and hanging out here was no landscaping then, no trees (or if there were they were very newly planted) or anything like that and nowhere to get a cup of tea afterwards to warm up. But we were the avant garde (although we didn’t know it at the time) and enjoying the vision of Gordon Young and Stan aters who had bought the old gra el pits in wo very keen local water skiers, they scraped together the asking price of and bought the acre site with acres of spring fed lakes hey had real ision and could see the potential in those newly fi lled gra el pits hey got the water skiing up and running with skiers coming from all over the country and a camp site very uickly followed
A few months later my water skiing days were over when I umped on a plane to head own nder ittle did know that years later I’d be sitting interviewing Activities Manager Chas Shrosbree and experiencing deja vu.
Forty years later you would not recognise the place. First of all the grounds are landscaped with large mature trees and established plantings here are permanent structures of wooden lodges a caravan park, swimming pool and large clubhouse he place has been transformed and matured into a lovely leisure area. And that’s not even mentioning the large pro shop, ski slopes and climbing wall. Gordon and Stan were able to use their passion for water skiing to develop the lakes and were uickly oined by local skier Ernie Ward who worked with them running the business and before long
championships were being held there. It quickly became known as a world class lake for skiing. It is quite shallow and sheltered so ideal.
A local speedboat company was based there and then Wentworth Action Sports in Peterborough opened a water sports shop. Momentum was now growing and the Peterborough sailboard club relocated to the lakes so it was now a centre for wind powered sports as well Sailing kayaking and windsurfing all took place there; particularly windsurfing as it was ery popular in the s he clubhouse was built in the mid s and et skiing introduced for a while as well. allington akes was ery firmly on the map nd more and more people were staying on site as well Some mo ing in permanently was another milestone for the comple as it was the year the ski slope was built y now the clubhouse was firmly established and many leisure homes had been built. Personnel were changing too a e and aggie right from the eterborough limbing shop oined forces with entworth and the pro shop became much larger selling climbing and ski gear as well as watersports kit. And once the ski slope opened the business ust grew and grew with toboggan parties for the youngsters and ski lessons for people wanting to learn. n the current owners bought the business and de eloped it further he outdoor pool was built along with the climbing wall y now more leisure homes had been built and many people li e on site as well as those who ha e second homes here en oying their time on the water and using all the facilities; it seems to be a good mi of people. er the years the sports o ered ha e e ol ed S paddle boarding is ery popular and open water swimming well established here is a m circuit that is open usually from arch to October, depending on demand. he business has grown from those early days of irtually no sta to now ha ing o er people Some are seasonal workers but there s a hard core of year round sta many who ha e been working here for many years particularly the grounds sta nd has Shrosbree is in charge of many of them. has oined allington in as the website manager is background is mountaineering and in he became the acti ities manager for the whole site. So anything to do with any sport and acti ity along with the shop is down to has e is a keen climber snow skier and water sporter, ‘anything that isn’t motorised I’ll do.’ And it’s the perfect place for him because he can swim after work, get in some weekly climbing practice and take out a paddle board whene er he has time ut he doesn t ha e that much time as he s pretty busy s well as being in charge of all the acti ities he s also in charge of the pro shop nd that is really worth a isit t s ast and stocked with e erything from hiking gear to wet suits to leisure gear ski and
walking boots nd they really know their stu able to o er an e cellent fitting ser ice for boots ski and walking as well as all the other sports you need equipment for. always describe allington as the perfect place to be introduced to the great outdoors says has ou can come and ha e a go at skiing or climbing and then go o and ski in snow or head to the Alps, or the Peaks to climb.’ he ski slope is currently being refurbished and allington is constantly keeping up with changing demands he refurbishment after years will feature a new surface that is conduci e to snowboarding and freestyle skiing which is popular now ou can come and practice your umps and tricks once the refurbishment is complete this winter. e are so lucky to ha e such a facility on our doorstep o ering so many sporting opportunities. And it all came from Gordon, Stan and rnie s ision all those years ago ere s to the ne t years
www.tallington.com www.tallingtonproshop.com
Lifeguard training boost
The RLSS UK (The Royal Life Saving Society UK), has joined forces with Aqua Park to help save lives this summer
IN 2021, 341 people lost their lives in lakes, reservoirs, rivers, ponds and canals in the UK. The partnership between the RLSS and Aqua Park Association UK and Ireland is aiming to reduce that number by increasing training for lifeguards who work at outdoor water venues.
The partnership has created a new training module that has been added to the RLSS UK’s current three-day course provided to lifeguards to help train more people to educate the public about being safe in and around the water.
The RLSS UK has trained a number of Aqua Park Group’s lifeguards to be ualified SS rainer ssessors who will deliver the training to all lifeguards at its four outdoors water parks, including the one at Rutland Water which is now open for the summer and also o er it to members of the public
Helen Bowker-Steer from the RLSS UK said: ‘There are too many incidents where people get injured or drown in the UK every year, and our mission is to prevent as many of these as possible, through both education and training. The partnership with Aqua Park Association UK and Ireland which include the Aqua Park Group will help equip more people with the ability to pass on the lifesaving skills re uired to help people who find themsel es in di culty in open water.
‘We know the summer weather attracts many people to take a dip, but we want everyone to enjoy water safely and the more highly ualified lifeguards we ha e the safer people can be
The RLSS UK’s new Aqua Park training module is an additional ualification to the current three day pen ater ifeguard course which sta do and will pro ide all lifeguards working at ua ark s four enues with the highest le el ualification a ailable in the UK.
It represents an investment of six hours additional training per lifeguard, with a key element of this training based around safety, first aid and using rescue boards increasing the skills of all the water safety team.
Conor from Aqua Park says, ‘we have four water parks in the UK, which will welcome tens of thousands of thrill-seekers this summer, and we’ve worked with the RLSS UK to put in extra training for our lifeguards to help keep everyone as safe as possible.
‘The new course we’ve developed with the RLSS UK means we ha e some of the highest ualified outdoor lifeguards in the looking after people at our parks.’
Aqua Park Group was started by watersports enthusiasts in 2016 at Rutland Water. As a family run business, it wanted to create a place full of joy that would connect families with the open water and share the many health benefits of embracing the great outdoors with people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.
Aqua Park Group has operated water parks since 2016 starting with utland ater before akeside ardi and the latest addition Aqua Park Grafham Water, which opened in summer 2021.
Fast forward to 2022 and this original vision is still anchored at the heart of e erything ua ark Group does er the years tens of thousands of friends, families, teams, and colleagues have visited Aqua Parks. All of whom have shared endless laughs and conquered a physical challenge, helping restore people’s mental and physical health and boost their wellbeing.
