Pipers Vale is a 19.7 hectare Local Nature Reserve on the southern outskirts of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. It is owned and managed by

Ipswich Borough Council Ipswich Borough Council is the local authority for Ipswich, a non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Suffolk, England. It is the second tier of a two-tier system, fulfilling functions such as refuse ...

. This site on the bank of the

River Orwell The River Orwell flows through the county of Suffolk in England from Ipswich to Felixstowe. Above Ipswich, the river is known as the River Gipping, but its name changes to the Orwell at Stoke Bridge, about half a mile below where the river beco ...

is part of

Orwell Country Park Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

. Its diverse habitats include heath, reedbeds, scrub and

alder carr An alder carr is a particular type of carr, i.e. waterlogged wooded terrain populated with alder trees. They can be found across the United Kingdom, sometimes attracting Ash trees should they become drier. Many have developed alongside streams in ...

. Over 100 bird species have been recorded here, including

redwing The redwing (''Turdus iliacus'') is a bird in the thrush family, Turdidae, native to Europe and the Palearctic, slightly smaller than the related song thrush. Taxonomy and systematics This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1 ...

s, whimbrels and

bullfinch Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds. True bullfinches The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus '' Pyrrhula''. These birds are distributed across Asia and Eu ...

es. There is access from Gainsborough Lane.

Pipers Vale Pool

Pipers Vale Pool () was an outdoor swimming venue opened on 12 June 1937 and replaced the

West End Bathing Place West End Bathing Place was an outdoor swimming venue in Ipswich, Suffolk. Location and features A bathing area for the West End of Ipswich was discussed as early as 1888 and was finally constructed in 1893 by the Ipswich Corporation. The lagoon ...

, which had closed in 1936 due to fears that it was polluting the

. The pool was designed by County-Borough's Engineer Edward McLauchlan and constructed at a cost of £8000. The pool consisted of a main pool and a smaller paddling pool. The main pool was 40 yards (45.72m) long, 12.5 yards (11.43) wide and depths between 2 feet 6 inches (0.76m) to 9 feet (2.7m). The pool boasted a 1m spring board as well as a steel framed diving stage with 1m, 2m and 3m fixed diving boards. The paddling pool was 50 feet (15.24) long by 35 feet (10.66m) width. Access was via a long walk through Pipers Vale; locally known as The Lairs. The pool overlooked the

. The site was very close to where the east side of the

Orwell Bridge The Orwell Bridge is a concrete box girder bridge just south of Ipswich in Suffolk, England. Opened to road traffic in 1982, the bridge carries the A14 road (England), A14 road (formerly the A45 road, A45) over the River Orwell. History Design ...

, which spans the

, begins. The popularity of the pool prompted the construction of a further pool, Broomhill Swimming Pool, to serve the western side of the town. Like the boilers of

Broomhill Pool Broomhill Pool is a Grade II listed lido on Sherrington Road in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Status Broomhill Pool opened on 30 April 1938 and closed in the autumn of 2002. The pool is the deepest lido in Britain (jointly with Hilsea Lido) at 15 ...

, Pipers Vale's boilers were removed as part of the WWII war effort. The Piper's Vale Pool was demolished in 1979 as part of temporary road works through the area prior to the construction of the Orwell Bridge. Areas amenities included sun-bathing beaches. In the first season much of the beach shingle at Pipers Vale soon found its way into the bottom of the pool tank and was not replicated for the following seasons. Other areas included a spectators' shelters, administration offices, 94 dressing cubicles (47 for ladies and 47 for gentlemen) and covered area with provision for up to 100 bicycles, a superintendent's office, a basket room for max. 450 baskets, plus a small buffet serving visitors to the pool and park. A wringer (mangle) was provided in each section to remove surplus water from costumes and towels. The pool was in close reach of four new large housing estates (

Racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

Estate, Gainsborough Estate, Gloucester Estate and the Greenwich Estate), some 3000 houses and three recently constructed schools.

References

External links

* Local Nature Reserves in Suffolk {{suffolk-geo-stub