Sale Water Park

Sale Water Park is a 152-acre (62 ha) area of parkland including a 52-acre (21 ha) artificial lake in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Opened in 1979 and owned by Trafford Council, the water park lies in an area of the green belt running through the Mersey river valley between Sale and Stretford, located between the river and the M60 motorway. The lake was formed in the 1970s by the flooding of a gravel pit excavated to provide material for the construction of an embankment raising the motorway 34 feet (10 m) above the Mersey's floodplain. The pit was excavated to a depth of around 115 feet (35 m), making the lake about 90 feet (27 m) deep in places. The land occupied by the water park was formerly within the grounds of Sale Old Hall, demolished in 1920. All that remains of the hall today is its former lodge, now the club house for Sale Golf Club, and its dovecote, which has been restored and relocated to the nearby Walkden Gardens. Sale Water Park provides important recreational facilities and wildlife reserves, as well as forming part of the flood defences for the surrounding area of Trafford.