アンスティアンドステイプルフィールドの湖・トップ20

There is a local car park at the Activity Centre leading straight onto the walk around the reservoir. Currently the foot path is very wet and muddy in places but would be a nice walk spring/summer/ autumn. There are a few benches around the reservoir for stopping and taking in the view.

The perimeter path around the reservoir is very muddy in places currently due to the amount of rain. Welly boots needed in some places.

Tilgate Lake is the largest of the three lakes in Tilgate Park and remains a popular watersports centre and tourist attraction in Crawley, West Sussex. Tilgate Lake offers the public a wide range of outdoor activities including archery, canoeing, fishing, kayaking, mountain biking, raft building, rowing, running, sailing, standup paddleboarding, open water swimming, team building,

Tilgate Lake is the biggest of the three lakes in Tilgate Park. It's a popular watersports lake with lots of other activities happening on and around it. Human history here goes back to the Mesolithic period when flint tools were made here. More recently, the area was a royal deer park in the 1600s and then Tilgate Manor Estate from 1647. More recently, BT owned it and the lake was sold for private fishing. Crawley Urban District Council purchased the area in the 1960s, and it's now open to the public.

This is the location of the only (single) public toilet on this route, and there’s also a kiosk for hot and cold drinks and ice creams. Long queues for both.

Using the power of moving water to drive a mill wheel is an ancient invention of the human spirit of discovery, the origins of which can be traced back to times long past. Thanks to such a construction, human or animal muscle power could be easily replaced by the power of the natural elements through a watercourse - natural or artificially created - in order to grind grain into corn or press oil from fruit, for example. There are essentially two different ways of driving watermills: * Either the flowing water simply hits the blades of the water wheel from below to set it in motion; or * the water is guided above the wheel - usually through a so-called "mill channel" - and falls onto the blades; this type of construction is more efficient due to natural gravity.

Also a Local Nature Reserve, Ardingly Reservoir was built in the 1970s. It is a wildlife haven with Ospreys even seen here. There are two bird hides on this eastern shore while the south eastern end is a hive of watersports activity.

Apart from a café bar where you can stop for a break, this center offers a variety of activities at Ardingly Reservoir, including junior and adult sailing, paddleboard rentals, and the opportunity to try windsurfing, among others.