Lymm Dam: 7 Things you need to know

Escape to a place that means many things to many people. Here are seven things you need to know about Lymm Dam (and a few more).

Lymm Dam is located in Southeast Warrington Borough and offers recreational and educational opportunities for locals and visitors.

Thousands of nature lovers visit each year to revel in its true magnificence and peaceful settings. It truly is an escape and is spread over 17-hectares.

But there is a great walk which is just 3.6 miles.
The Dam makes for a beautiful day out, whether you enjoy cycling, walking, ornithology, horseback riding, or simply enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

It is considered some of the best angling in the North West, catering for all abilities.

How did Lymm Dam Happen?

Lymm Dam was built in 1824 – when a turnpike road was created from Warrington to Stockport. In the early 19th century, the Warrington and Stockport Turnpike Trust
constructed the road, which became the present-day A56.
There was concern over traffic congestion as local opposition prevented the road from coming through the centre of the village.

The Trust then had to find a substitute, and they chose to cross what was then ‘a pool and stream’ in the valley below St Mary’s Church. To do this, an earth dam was constructed
across the valley.

After its completion, the pool and stream below the church became the lake called LymmDam. A toll bar was situated on the church slope, and for some locals, this section of the
road is still sometimes referred to as ‘Penny Hill’.

At the time of Lymm Dam’s creation, the area was part of Lymm Hall Estate, which owned much of the village at that time.

Looking after Lymm Dam

In partnership with the Lymm Heritage Group, Bay Malton Angling Club, Lymm Parish Council and the Keep Lymm Tidy Group, Warrington Borough Council works hard to ensure
the site is clean, tidy, well maintained at all times.

This collaborative, community management approach helps to maintain and enhance the resource. It also utilises close links with local people, businesses, schools, colleges and young people’s groups to educate, inspire and involve all community sectors in their local environment.

In addition to raising the site’s profile, achieving the Green Flag award will ensure that the site is managed sustainably, so that future growth and development are balanced with the
need to protect and conserve this valuable and fragile site, so that future generations can enjoy it.

Trees and wildlife at Lymm Dam

Local schools visit Lymm Dam each year to plant a wide variety of tree species. Since the mid-1980’s 12,000 trees have been planted.

The Dam is great to see throughout the year, with a kaleidoscope of flowers showing different colours.

Kingfishers nest in the banks over the main Dam and can be seen streaking low over the water, returning to their nest with food for their offspring.

The North American Grey squirrel, which is competitive and sometimes aggressive, has made a home here. If you like to stay out at night, you’re sure to be in for a treat as wild bats
feed over the Dam and hover above the treetops.

As a piece of Lymm Dam’s history, the Crossfield Bridge and the rows of trees that line its path are a reminder of how different the site could have looked today.

Unfortunately, due to Dutch elm disease, the elm trees died in the 1980s. Despite this, the poplars remain one of the most distinctive features of Lymm Dam.

Get Rocking at Lymm Dam

Taking a walk around Lymm Dam, you will see many areas of exposed sandstone rock.
Sandstone (sometimes known as Arenite) is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth’s crust.

The sandstone around the Dam was created during a period called the Permo-Triassic and is around 250 million years old.

Secret Pathways

At the southern end of Lymm Dam, you will see a footpath leading into a wood- ‘The Bongs.’

The Bongs is one of only a handful of areas of semi-ancient woodland in the Borough of Warrington (the phrase ‘semi-ancient’ means the woodland itself is older than the oldest
trees in it).

The wood is privately owned, but a public footpath runs through it, leading eventually to the A50 Warrington to Knutsford road a mile south of here.

Can I fish at the Dam?

There are many reasons why anglers find Lymm Dam to be one of the best fishing spots in the North West; it caters to all ability levels. The fishing is excellent; the fish are varied and
have fantastic staging.

Each Saturday, the water management team makes sure all the water is running smoothly so everyone can enjoy themselves.

From the edge of the water to 10 feet in places, the depths of the water range from inches to feet, from which you can fish superbly with skill.

Aside from large carp, big pike, catfish from wells, eels, decent perch, roach, rudd, chub, tench, and a lot of big Bream into double digits, you can catch lots of these species at this
spot.

Over 25lb Pike are often caught; you should try the Dam Wall and the church shallows for these more giant pike.

On yer bike at Lymm Dam

To prevent erosion and damage to plants, cyclists are asked to keep to the paths and meadow areas around Lymm Dam, a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (or SINC).

To maintain its ecological value, the Dam must be treated with care.

Pedestrians must have adequate warning of bicycles’ approach, and cyclists should wear helmets.

Whenever you approach bends or path intersections, be extra cautious.

A £24,000 grant from the Environment Agency also enabled the resurfacing of the footpath along the west bank.

Four-legged friends at Lymm Dam

Lymm Dam gets exceptionally crowded on weekends, so it is not the best place to walk your dog in terms of space.

The walk is circular, and there usually is an ice-cream van and a mobile refreshment van on the main road when you’ve finished (or you could visit the Church Green pub).

Please keep your dog under control while walking it. Also, please don’t allow your dog to swim in the lake as this disturbs wildlife, and submerged debris can injure your animal.

Also, please clean up dog foul and use the dog bins provided.

In addition, free poop scoops are available from the Rangers at their base on the Trans Pennine Trail in Statham.

For those on horseback, please keep to the permitted bridleway along the site’s eastern edge.

Finally, spending a penny at Lymm Dam

Located near the bus stop on Church Road, a public toilet is fully accessible. Located near the bus stop on Church Road, a public toilet is fully accessible.

This facility is operated and maintained by Lymm Parish Council.