‘Swimming with the fishes’ has taken on a new meaning at Lavender Hall Fishery. The 12-acre complex—where you can fish for 30lb carp on the outskirts of Coventry—has completely drained one of its lakes to remove all fish and obstacles, and transformed it into one of the West Midlands’ most unique wild swimming spots.
Lavender Hall Fishery’s Dragon Lake offers a stunning, tranquil location for open water swimming and paddleboarding. At about four times the size of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, the clay-lined lake spans 1.25 acres with a 200-metre full loop swim. It boasts excellent water quality, too!
To make it a comfortable experience for everyone, the wild swimming lake even has its own pool-style steps for easy access, lakeside seating to relax at, and a café less than 20 metres away. You can even hire a paddleboard from Lavender Hall Fishery if you don’t have your own.
When can I go swimming and paddleboarding?
Swimming sessions are available from Thursday to Sunday, with one-hour time slots for £8, running from 8 am to 6 pm. You can also go swimming on Tuesday evenings between 4 pm and 7 pm. You can only go paddleboarding on weekends, £10 for one hour (£16 with board hire). Lavender Hall Fishery’s activity lake will close for winter in October.
What else can I do at Lavender Hall Fishery?
Fishing is the main activity. Station Lake is an “intimate but feature full carp lake”, home to 97 large carp—40 of which are over 20lb, around 15 over 25lb, and the lake record is 30lb. Meanwhile, Ben’s Lake is stocked with smaller carp, F1 hybrids, roach, rudd and gudgeon.
How do I get there from Birmingham?
Lavender Hall Fishery is located in Berkswell, about seven miles outside of Coventry, but it’s just as easy to get there from Birmingham. By public transport, take the train from New Street to Berkswell, and it’s a 14-minute walk to the swimming spot. Or you can drive there via the M6, A446 and A452 to Lavender Hall Lane, CV7 7BN. Either way, it will take around half an hour.
To learn more about Lavender Hall Fishery, head here.