A Vast Nearby Lake

This area of Bedfordshire could well vie with the North of England for being a District of Lakes, due to the number of worked out Claypits, and I have made several trips to reconnoitred many to find ones that support varied wildlife habitats. On the Wednesday, I tried to trace one lake close by Stewartby, and found it appears to be totally enclosed and has become the site of an Incinerator very much against local opinion.

However, by the outskirts of the village is another lake, known as Quest Lake, and there do appear to be points of entry, with no signs displaying a lack of access, and so I decided to ascertain whether it might be a sanctuary for wildlife, or that it might be yet another potential characterless housing estate. I sincerely hope that it might be the former, and so entered and as I left the bordering woodland, my spirits rose as this was a place of natural beauty, although there were signs of the less thoughtful human activity of dumped bedding and discarded cans and beer bottles along a wide track encircling a beautifully undulating, steep-sloping bank to a blue expanse of lake. It certainly looked promising as the start point of a future gem. But I just hope that the abundance of hawthorn bushes is curtailed and a better choice of trees and bushes add to some of the ground cover.

One really pleasing observation I made was a scattering of Buddleia bushes. Whether this was by design or happenstance I have no way of discerning, but it was a welcome sight. Some of this expanse does need protection from the ravages of wind and sunshine and soon, before any dormant seeds are simply blown away.

Also, what was sad to see was that the earlier incumbents had strewn much of the landscape with failed brick residue, making it hard for it to support much in the way of plant life. It is certainly my opinion that Hanson should have been forced to replace this with better quality soil, so that the scars from their labours could heal, and live again. Some trees and bushes chosen carefully in relation to the nature of the soil, and the attraction of animals, birds and insects to repopulate this landscape.

The current canvas is a wonderful starting point, and the worst aspects of human behaviour of treating open spaces as litter dumps should be actively proscribed, by heavy fines and spells of litter removal at uncomfortably early hours to ensure that when responsible visitors arrive each day the area is once again pristine. All fines should be invested in providing sustenance for volunteers for any improvement initiatives undertaken.

I met a young lady undertaking an inventory of some of the current species that call this place home, apparently on behalf of Bedfordshire County Council, which was welcome news, as this area should be cherished, enjoyed, and above all preserved and protected. So I hope the Quest name defines a promising future for this jewel of a place to shine.