Herefordshire Holiday Park formed in the Ice Age!

An Ice Age Pond

When you visit Pearl Lake Country Holiday Park, Shobdon, Herefordshire you’re sharing the space with Anodonta cygnea. Before we reveal what they are, here’s a potted history of the land on which Pearl Lake Country Holiday Park sits.

The origins of the 15 acre lake are a bit of a mystery. Long thought to be a glacial lake, it’s actually an Ice Age Pond, formed some 20,000 years ago. The ice sheet which covered parts of Herefordshire retreated towards the Welsh mountains, leaving depressions, called ‘kettle holes’. These filled with water and became ponds.

From Pool to Lake

Pearl Lake is huge compared to the other Ice Age ponds in Herefordshire. It’s thought to have manually been made bigger over time. On an 1887 map, it was named “New Decoy Pool”. It was probably extended to help with the capture of wildfowl and ducks for the nearby Bateman Estate in Shobdon.

Shobdon Court and the Batemans

Pearl Lake Country Holiday Park sits in what was the south-west corner of the grounds of old Shobdon Court. The Court was bought in 1704 by James Bateman, following the death of his incredibly wealthy father.

It was described as ‘A large new built seat with outhouses and barns, stables, malt kilns and other offices, pigeon’s house, gardens, orchards, fishponds and plantations.’ (Daniels and Watkins 1994, 20). The house at Shobdon was said to be in the style of Clarendon House, Piccadilly, with a five-bay front with two-bay wings to either side.

James was a ‘financier’ back in the day. He’d made loads of money whilst living in Alicante, Portugal where he was a wine trader. He became one of the founding directors of the Bank of England and served as its Governor for 2 years.

Times of change

James also became a founding Director of the East India Company which earned him a knighthood. Sir James became MP for Ilchester and was also the Lord Mayor of London. He died in 1718 of what was described as ‘gout of the stomach’. At the time, gout was considered the disease of the wealthy with diets rich in meat and red wine. Shobdon Court then passed to James’s son William, who became a Viscount.

Spin forward a few years to 1840 and we find in the extensive grounds were a number of oriental ponds – Rookery, Swan and Canal Pools.

End of a dynasty

In 1858, Shobdon Court underwent a huge transformation. In 1891 the incumbent Lord Bateman gave up his home farm and with it the Shobdon herd of Herefords – one of the oldest in the country at the time. The Bateman dynasty ended in 1931 and the main house was demolished.

The service and stable blocks still exist and are now Grade II listed apartments. Part of the former Norman church remains and is known as the Shobdon Arches, whilst much of the rest of the original park is now farmland.

During WW2, some buildings were requisitioned by the RAF for officers training at nearby Shobdon Airfield, now home to the Hereford Aero Club and a popular flying centre. Today, the Shobdon Airfield Café is a favourite stop for walkers, cyclists and plane-spotters.

Surviving History at Pearl Lake

The old gamekeepers house still stands in the grounds of Pearl Lake Country Holiday Park. It’s one of our self-catering cottages, as is part of the old stable block. The gamekeepers larder is still there too, complete with hooks used to hang rabbits caught on the estate and a pit to catch the blood from deer hung after being hunted.

Wildlife of Pearl Lake

But, back to Anodonta cygnea, which we mentioned at the start. This is the Latin name for freshwater swan mussels which are in abundance in Pearl Lake – yes – in the actual lake! Swan mussels are bivalve molluscs. They burrow into the soft substrate around the lake’s edge and breathe through their siphon tubes which are left poking out of the soil.

The mussels feed, excrete and reproduce through their siphon tube – so one tube fits all! Swan mussels feed on very small particles of decaying vegetation and small live food. They’re also filter feeders who feed on finely suspended particles in the water and then expel the water through their exhalant siphon.

Some swan mussel facts:

• Swan mussels can live for up to 12 years
• They’re the largest freshwater mussel in the UK
• They can grow up to 6 inches in length
• As filter feeders they can draw in up to 10 litres a day
• Their larvae are parasitic and latch on to the skin, gills or fins of fish during their transition from larvae to tiny mussels.
• Their shells can be used for decorations
• Their empty shells are used to lay eggs in by small fish like bitterling and shiners

The name ‘Pearl Lake’ is thought to have come about due to these freshwater swan mussels that live around the lake. Unfortunately, swan mussels don’t actually contain pearls, and may have been confused with saltwater oysters, which do!

Visiting Shobdon Today

Whether you’re here for the history, a walk to the Shobdon Arches, a pint at the Bateman Arms, or a flying lesson at Shobdon Airfield, this corner of Herefordshire is full of surprises. And right at its heart, Pearl Lake remains a holiday park shaped by the Ice Age and alive today with stories, wildlife and community.