This artificial fishing lake seemed to have appeared overnight but realistically it would have been sometime in the 80s when I was not resident in Great Ayton. It takes its name from Larners Hill, a ridge with a bridleway eventually leading up to Easby Moor and Captain Cook’s Monument. For many years I regularly used a permissive footpath that ran past the lake and up the old incline to the remains of Ayton Mines. This would have been funded under agri-environment schemes such as the Environmental Stewardship. From 2010 funding for these schemes has ceased when the agreements have expired. It’s not entirely clear whether access to this path is still available. At least until a few weeks ago one sign still existed showing the permissive access but the northern gate is padlocked (circled) making access difficult and clearly unwelcome. Interesting there was a small triangular area of permissive open access land at the south end of the lake. This was overgrown, impossible to access but a nice little wildlife refuge. It is now a car park.
Leave a Reply