Marine Lake

Marine Lake provides a free all-year outdoor swimming and non-powered watersports destination on Weston-super-Mare’s seafront. 

It occupies a small cove near Knightstone Island towards the north of Weston Bay. 

The Severn Estuary has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world, so the water goes a long way out at low tide. Marine Lake has water at any time-of-day thanks to a retaining wall known as ‘Knightstone Causeway’. The Causeway contains sluice gates to periodically filter the Lake. Marine Lake's water is replenished regularly when the tides are high enough to overtop the causeway.  

It’s used daily by different groups of all ages for recreation including

• swimming
• stand up paddleboarding
• water polo
• kayaking
• synchronised swimming
• Sea Cadets
• yoga on the beach
• live music events
• people just having a paddle

Madeira Gardens, above the Lake, also provide welcome shade on a hot day, with lovely views across the estuary. 

Marine Lake is an important part of our national seaside heritage. The lake opened in 1929, so is nearly 100 years old. It was a very popular visitor attraction and the recreation pool is largest of its kind in the country. 

Our vision is to further enhance Marine Lake is to develop year-round facilities to encourage food and drink and leisure activities. We hope to tap into the trend for outdoor swimming, attracting residents and visitors alike. 

The tidal lake temporarily closed between 6 February and 25 March 2024 to allow the first phase of improvement work to take place. 

Work included further dredging to remove built-up silt at the lake. This was carried out by a specialist contractor. Due to natural flow this is a regular requirement, and this work focussed on the edge of the Lake which is popular with families and children. 

The next stage of work will include 

• improvements to the walkways, steps and ramps and; 
• upgrading the public toilets

This work is due to be completed by the end of 2025. 

The lake is managed by our Seafronts team. The Weston Marine Lake Mudlarks is a volunteer group with an interest in the lake. They work with us to agree caretaking and events for the Lake, including litter picking and fundraising.

In May 2024, we announced that we had appointed architecture practice We Made That to design improvements to Marine Lake. During the summer, they delivered a programme to get people involved in that process. 

That work, which included the ‘Grove Park Gathering’ public engagement event, has helped to shape proposals. Look out for more information within a planning application, which is due to be submitted soon.

Everyone is invited to take part. Watch this space for more updates. 

This project has been made possible thanks to the council’s successful bid for £20 million from the UK government. 

This is part of North Somerset Council’s ambitious placemaking vision for Weston.