Weed All About It!

Published 19:34 on 11 Jun 2026

You've probably noticed that there is a lot of weed about in the lake at the moment. Its been particularly bad around the jetties and near the boat house, and we've recently held a couple of work parties to start getting it back under control. During the first work party the aim was to find the most effective tools and options for removing the weed. This also involved taking a closer look at the types of weed being removed from the lake.

A lot of the material removed during the first work party was String Algae or Blanket Weed. This is a fast-growing, algae that forms densely entangled masses of green filaments. It thrives in sunlight and nutrient-rich water, typically peaking in spring and early summer. It is free floating in the water but will often become entangled with other weeds that are rooted to the bottom.

There were also two other types of weed found. The first was Rigid Hornwort, which is a fast-growing, submerged aquatic plant. It has no true roots and grows either floating freely or loosely anchored to the bottom by specialized modified leaves called rhizoids. The second was North American Pondweed, which is a highly invasive, non-native species that are spreading into northern England. The plants are securely rooted to the lake bottom and grow upwards as a single stem which then divides near the surface to quickly form dense, tangled mats.

Because this is a non-native invasive species, those of us who travel to sail at other venues should be aware of the RYA recommendations for biosecurity, including making sure that your boat and its trailer have been washed down and allowed to dry before leaving the club.

We'll be continuing to run short work parties to control the weed and we intend to make some tools and instructions available for general use by members who want to help by removing weed local to the jetties.

Last updated 19:45 on 11 June 2026