POTA GB-0542 – Ryton Pools

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About GB-0542 – Ryton Pools

These days Ryton Pools is a mature country space full of trees, green spaces and many species of wildlife. However, it hasn’t always been that way.

Located about one mile south-west of the village of Ryton on Dunsmore, just outside Coventry, this site covers around 100 acres. There is evidence that prehistoric man occupied this site around 500 million years ago. Around 450,000 years ago the area was consumed by advancing ice sheets, and this set the grounds for the usage of the site in more recent times.

As the ice progressed a layer of bolder clay was laid over the sand and gravel that the river had deposited before the ice made its appearance. On top of this bolder clay, grey, stoneless clay was laid down as the ice started to melt. As time passed, the area became a rich resource for the quarrying of the clay to make bricks and the deeper gravels for aggregates, concrete manufacture and horticulture.

When quarrying came to an end in 1965 large pits, from where the valuable materials had been dug were left behind as ugly scars on the landscape; a reminder of the industrialisation of the area. The local council saw fit to use the site for domestic waste landfill, as if the quarry scars were not enough.

However, in 1992, part of the site started to be developed into a country park. Four of the pits were flooded, the largest of which covers approximately 10 acres (40,000 m²). In 1996, the site opened to the public. I remember visiting the site in those early days and the young trees and shrubs did little to hide what a barren place the area was. Later on in the nineties, the rest of the site received the same treatment and yet more pools were created from the excavated pits.

Today, thirty years later, you would not recognise the place. It’s a very pleasant place to spend some time. In addition to the many paths to walk, there is a visitor centre/cafe and gift shop, play areas for children, a bird hide, cycle hire centre, fishing facilities and even a miniature railway.

Not forgetting that this site was once a dump for household waste, the council have cleverly tapped in to the methane produced by this rotting material and used it to power an electricity generator. Each year it provides the National Grid with enough electricity to power around 2,000 houses.

Activating GB-0542 – Ryton Pools

Of course, another activity that takes place at Ryton Pools is amateur radio – given that the site qualifies as GB-0542 in the Parks on the Air (POTA) award scheme. On the day I visited the weather was fine, with a mixture of sun and cloud and acceptable enough temperatures to enable to operate from inside the v a with the tailgate up. I have Reynauds and am, as a result, always cold – even in the middle of summer.

This was a whistle-stop tour as I was attempting to activate three POTA sites during the day. Earlier I had activated GB-1752 Coombe Abbey earlier and was going on to GB- 3926 Abbey Fields Country Park, in Kenilworth, after this activation was completed. As a result, I made the required number of contacts, ten, and then shut up shop. The ten digital QSOs using FT8 were all made into near Europe, the furthest being south of St. Petersburg.

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