Aqualate Mere

Aqualate Mere is the largest natural lake in the English Midlands and is managed as a National Nature Reserve (NNR) by Natural England. It is a remnant of the prehistoric Lake Lapworth. The Mere lies within the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England, some 3 km east of the market town of Newport, Shropshire. It is within the grounds of Aqualate Hall, a country house, with a landscaped deer park. Although large in extent (1. 5 km long and 0. 5 km wide), the Mere is remarkably shallow and is nowhere much more than one metre deep. Aqualate Mere is an example of an esker system (rare in the Midlands) formed by glacial meltwaters during the late Devensian glaciation, about 50, 000 years ago. The depression in which the Mere lies, thought to be a kettle hole, and the surrounding higher ground which comprises glacial sand and gravel deposits were all formed at the same time.

Aqualate Mere is the largest natural lake in the English Midlands and is managed as a National Nature Reserve (NNR) by Natural England. It is a remnant of the prehistoric Lake Lapworth. The Mere lies within the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England, some 3 km east of the market town of Newport, Shropshire. It is within the grounds of Aqualate Hall, a country house, with a landscaped deer park. Although large in extent (1. 5 km long and 0. 5 km wide), the Mere is remarkably shallow and is nowhere much more than one metre deep. Aqualate Mere is an example of an esker system (rare in the Midlands) formed by glacial meltwaters during the late Devensian glaciation, about 50, 000 years ago. The depression in which the Mere lies, thought to be a kettle hole, and the surrounding higher ground which comprises glacial sand and gravel deposits were all formed at the same time.