Who are we?

The Friends of Fairhaven Lake is a loosely constituted group of people who believe that the municipal boating lake on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire is the finest place in the world - and that it has the potential to be even finer!

Members tend to fall into two categories:

First there are those who used and enjoyed boating, water skiing and generally hanging about at the lake in its heyday, regarded as the post World War II period and especially when George Jones was Manager from 1955 until his premature death in 1972. Many of those people have been traced and whilst some have moved on and no longer wish to be kept up-to-date about what is happening at the lake, a substantial number do and have welcomed the chance to rekindle long-forgotten and long-lost friendships.

Then there are the new people - people who have discovered Fairhaven Lake more recently, perhaps on a day visit or have moved to the area, and who agree it is a magnificent place and wish to associate with others of the same opinion.

But we’ll still talk to you if you want to know about anything related to what used to be proudly known as the Ashton Marine Park - especially if you wish to talk about manholes!

How it all started

Although many people think only about the water skiing group when (fondly) remembering Fairhaven Lake, it was a focus for other groups as well – the general boating contract holders and the Fairhaven Sailing Club

to name just two. Indeed, the 2001 reunion was at the end of a sequence of events which was started by two people who were not serious skiers.

Most people, to whom The Lake was special, kept in contact with at least one or two others over the years. That is why it was not too difficult to compile our master list of names because everyone seemed to have maintained contact with someone else. The two people in question here were Sally Johnson and Beverley Hatton. Sally, having moved away, later returned to the Fylde Coast and now lives locally again. But her friend Beverley currently lives in Worcestershire. From 1951 and into the 1960s, Beverley used to live at Cyprus Lodge in Cyprus Avenue, where her mother was the Manageress of that Nalgo Convalescent Home.

Sally spotted that a rather forlorn Cyprus Lodge was for sale in 2000 and contacted Beverley in case she wanted to come back to Fairhaven and have a last look at her former home. She did, and whilst she was staying with Sally, took the opportunity to try to find some other old friends.

So on Saturday 5th August, 2000, Beverley Hatton, by then Beverley Webb, rang Geoff Cunliffe to say she was in the area and staying with Sally Johnson, who had become Sally Aspinall. Could she call and see him? Who would have refused that offer?

That meeting, various subsequent telephone calls .and a casual remark about wondering how many of the old Lake group we could muster, led to a very informal meeting of a group on Saturday 26th. August in The Fairhaven Hotel.

That group comprised:

Sally Aspinall (nee Johnson), Brian & Edith Clarke, Bob Gallon

Alistair Heyworth, Lyn Thompson (née Jones), Beverley Webb (née Hatton)

Terry Wright, and Geoff Cunliffe

Meeting together for the first time in over thirty years, it was an evening of happy smiles. This led to another meeting on Wednesday, 30th August, 2000, also at The Fairhaven. That group comprised:

Gillian Airey (née Meleleu), Sally Aspinall (née Johnson), Richard Jones

Lyn Thompson (née Jones), Beverley Webb (née Hatton), Margaret and Geoff Cunliffe

From these two meetings emerged the concept on a major Reunion. The first meeting to plan this was held at Geoff Cunliffe’s house on the evening of Wednesday 25th. October, 2000. It comprised of Geoff, Lyn Thompson and Mike Pemberton.

There was a further meeting at Mike Pemberton’s on Wednesday 22nd. November 2000 which brought on board Brian Clarke, Don Sidebottom and Richard Jones. That represented the full strength of the organising group which was photographed for the local paper on the evening of the Reunion which was fixed for Saturday 12th May 2001.

It was hoped that the Reunion could be at the Fairhaven Lake cafe, but Lyn' s early enquiries suggested that this would not be possible. Local church halls and Lytham Cricket Club were suggested as alternative venues, but none had the appeal of the Lake cafe. Brian Clarke agreed to approach Richard Chell again, having held something similar at the conclusion of a car rally a few years previously, and, of course, Brian pulled it off1!!

We also had some luck. Abbie Boulton, a very close friend of Mike Pemberton, would be in the country from South Africa, where he now lives, for his son's wedding. He and wife Jenny returned to London to catch a flight the following day! A chance remark to Mike Pemberton led Geoff Cunliffe to Pete Selley's mother in Southport then, via email, to Singapore Airlines where he was found

Doctors tend to be able to find doctors, and, following a lead from Terry Wright, Robin Ashworth found Brian Bentley in Salisbury .

Terry Wright also led us to Ian Fletcher, although he was unable to come, and Gill Meleleu (now Gill Airey) led us to Phil Buckle and Jean Sharples (now Jean Kay).

So they continued to be traced.

Arrangements began to be put into place. Everybody made what contributions they could, and Brian Clarke, our Mr. Fixit seemed to be able to talk anyone into anything.

Eventually a definitive list pf boaters and skiers was drawn together. Richard Jones drafted an initial flyer; Geoff Cunliffe drafted a different one which was eventually used and circulated.

Most people we wrote to responded, and many at considerable length.

By early April, we had sufficient pledges to go for it. Flyer No.2 was circulated to those who had expressed an interest and negotiations with Richard Chell agreed a menu.

Brian and Lyn organised some publicity in the Lytham St.Annes Express on 22nd. April and, with only a few days to go, seventy four had paid up.

The evening had an official photograph taken by Peter Own of Lytham. It captured sixty-six people, all of whom have been identified (although it is believed there is one mistake), plus the backs of two heads, one known, one unknown!

The Reunion was a magnificent success and it received coverage in the Lytham St.Annes Express of 17th. May 2001.

It brought together some 80 people from as far afield as Singapore and South Africa. We also traced former friends in Australia (one of whom has since come over to see us) and America. We all had a wonderful evening in the Lake Café after we had seen a demonstration of water skiing for old time’s sake. That was the first time, for thirty years, that either an Albatross speedboat had been seen on the lake, or that there had been any water skiing.

It was felt that it would be a shame to lose all out contacts and to let the momentum go. Initially we thought of having our own web page(!!!) but eventually decided on producing a periodic Newsletter. So the Reunion Newsletter was produced and freely circulated to everyone on our lists.

As time progressed, David Hamilton and Jack Nuttall joined the very ad.hoc. committee.

We realised that we couldn’t go on calling our publication the Reunion Newsletter so we transformed ourselves into the Friends of Fairhaven Lake, with an appropriate change in the Newsletter title. We also decided we had to thin out our mailing list because, after we had asked for contributions towards the cost and several people contributed nothing, we felt it unfair that those who paid should subsidise the free-riders.

Those who now contribute £5 per year to the Friends of Fairhaven Lake now receive two four page Newsletters annually, which are in colour and, usually, have an additional supplement of at least two and sometimes four full pages in the middle for no extra charge. It’s a real bargain!

The Friends of Fairhaven Lake

There is a difference between us and some other Friends groups such as the Friends of (nearby) Lowther Gardens.

Whilst that group is concerned about everything to do with the gardens, our prime emphasis is on the lake itself, i.e. the water and water-borne activities. We certainly wish to see the grounds, lawns, flower beds and other aspects smart, well-kept and flourishing, but our principal interest is the actual lake itself.

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