Boating to resume at Earlswood Lakes at Easter

Operating at weekends and school holidays, boating activities will take place on the Upper Lake, starting on Thursday 24 March 2016.

The operation will be run by Earlswood Lakes Café and Boating Ltd who were recently chosen to manage the catering and leisure facilities for the Earlswood Lakes site.

A planning application for a permanent refreshment kiosk, boat house and toilet building will follow soon. In the meantime, boat rental will take place from the lakeside and refreshments will continue to be offered from the mobile catering facility that has been located at the site since January.

Coralie Holman, Senior Asset Manager, said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing people boating on Earlswood Lakes again, as they once did. I’m sure it will prove really popular with visitors to the site.

“As part of the recent catering tender we were keen to hear how operators would improve the leisure opportunities at the site to broaden its appeal to existing and new visitors. We liked the Matthews Organisation and Joules Wine Bar Partnership’s plans to reinstate boating and their plans to enhance the appearance of the site.”

“We are really pleased with the positive feedback we have received about the new catering operation”, added Mrs Holman.

Tommy Matthews of Earlswood Lakes Café and Boating Ltd said: “We look forward to reviving boating at Earlswood Lakes and bringing this beauty spot back to its former glory.

“To begin with, we will have seven four-seater pedalos, three smaller pedalos and two rowing boats.”

Anyone renting a boat that is aged under 14 or is a non-swimmer will be required to wear buoyancy aids. Buoyancy aids will also be available to any other customers that would like to wear one. All children must be accompanied by an adult before taking to the water.

Each half-hour session will cost £4 for adults and £3 for children, with offers available for families.

To minimise disturbance to nesting birds and other wildlife on an around the lake and for safety, a ten metre perimeter around the lake’s island and an area on one side of the lake will be cordoned off.

Earlswood Lakes Café and Boating Ltd is a joint venture between the Matthews Organisation, the company behind Reigate on Ice in Priory Park and the operators of Joules Wine Bar in Reigate.

The Lower Lake will be retained for angling once the dam works are completed later in 2016.