Pugneys Watersports
Pugneys Country Park could be one of West Yorkshire’s finest watersports venues
Covering 250 acres on the edge of Wakefield, Pugneys was transformed from a former opencast mine and sand and gravel quarry into a country park in 1985. At its heart is a 100-acre lake, purpose-built for non-powered watersports including canoeing, kayaking, and sailing, with a footpath running the full 1.6-mile circumference of the water. The Boathouse Café sits lakeside, and Sandal Castle overlooks the whole site from the hill above.
It’s an accessible, beautiful, and genuinely rare flat water venue for West Yorkshire — close to Wakefield city centre, free to enter, and originally designed with paddlers, sailors, and swimmers in mind.
What changed
In June 2023, Wakefield Council announced plans to scale back water activities at Pugneys, citing concerns about water safety including depth, weed growth, and algae. [1] Efforts to recruit a commercial operator to run activities had also been unsuccessful. [1] The decision prompted concern from other established local sports clubs who had long used the lake. [2]
West Yorkshire Canoe Club believes these concerns do not apply to organised paddlesport. Our members paddle in boats, wearing buoyancy aids, under the supervision of Paddle UK qualified leaders. Organised paddlesport, conducted under the supervision of nationally qualified leaders and with appropriate safety equipment, carries a fundamentally different risk profile to unstructured water access. The conditions cited in 2023 have also changed, with the lake understood to be in considerably better condition today.
The council’s own announcement confirmed that on-water activity by organised groups and charity events would continue. [1] West Yorkshire Canoe Club is both.
About West Yorkshire Canoe Club
Founded over 70 years ago, West Yorkshire Canoe Club is one of Yorkshire’s longest-established paddlesport clubs. We are a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, affiliated to Paddle UK, and we exist to make kayaking, canoeing, and paddleboarding accessible to everyone in our region. We are run entirely by volunteers, for the benefit of our members and the wider community.
Pugneys has been part of our story. We would like it to be part of our future.
References
[1] Wakefield Express, June 2023 — “Pugneys Country Park to become a wildlife haven as water sports and services scaled down” https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/people/pugneys-country-park-to-become-a-wildlife-haven-as-water-sports-and-services-scaled-down-4192507
[2] Wakefield Express, July 2023 — “Decision to turn Wakefield’s Pugneys Country Park into nature safe haven threatens triathlon club’s existence” https://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/people/decision-to-turn-wakefields-pugneys-country-park-into-nature-safe-haven-threatens-triathlon-clubs-existence-4228130