| Fritton Lake | |
|---|---|
 View across Fritton Decoy The view is southwesterly towards Ashby Warren, May 2008 | |
  Fritton Lake  Fritton Lake | |
| Location | Norfolk andSuffolk, England |
| Coordinates | 52°32′35″N1°39′32″E / 52.543°N 1.659°E /52.543; 1.659 |
Fritton Lake orFritton Decoy is a lake on the border of the Englishcounties ofNorfolk andSuffolk close to the towns ofLowestoft andGreat Yarmouth. It is located within the parishes ofFritton and St Olaves andSomerleyton, Ashby and Herringfleet. A private member's club operates on the Fritton side of the lake, owned by theSomerleyton Estate.[1]
Peter Scott lived in a cottage rented from 2nd Lord Somerleyton on the north bank of Fritton Lake during the 1930s.
The lake may be pre-medieval but was largely dug in medieval times to extractpeat for burning.[2][3] It came into use as aduck decoy, a site designed for the large-scale hunting ofwaterfowl.[3] Artificial water channels covered with net-tunnels were constructed around the lake. Ducks would be encouraged to swim down the channels using dogs or food and trapped upon reaching the end. At one point, 21 such channels were in operation around the lake, and four remained in operation in 1918.[4]
During the Second World War, a secret training facility was located at Fritton Lake. Its purpose was to train tank crews ofDD tanks – amphibious versions of BritishValentine Tanks and American-madeSherman tanks. Between April 1943 and May 1944 British, American, and Canadian units came to Fritton Lake to be trained in the use of these tanks.[5] One tank that sank during training remains in the lake.[3] The site remained in military use into the early 1950s as part of the Specialised Armoured Development Establishment,[6] during which further amphibious experiments and trials were undertaken. The waterline was raised in 1954 by the building up of a weir.[2]
Adjoining are a range of attractions:
Fritton Lake is a private members' club and holiday resort; non-members are not admitted other than as guests of members, or as holidaymakers staying in the retreats on site.
Fritton LakeTriathlon includes an open-water swim in the lake. Unseen reeds in parts of the lake mean that unsupervised swimming has been flagged by the owners as dangerous and forbidden.[7][1]