The lake at Hatfield Water Park was excavated in 1971 when sand and gravel were needed to build the nearby M18 and M62 motorways; water flowed in naturally. South Yorkshire County Council bought the site in 1974 and a centre for watersports, camping and fishing was developed. Today, Doncaster Council manages the park for you to enjoy a range of activities in a safe, supervised environment, whether on or beside the lake.
Sailing, canoeing and windsurfing craft and equipment can be hired or you can bring your own. Lessons with our professionally qualified instructors can be pre-booked, or you can 'go it alone' on the water. Whatever your choice, you can be sure that our staff are there to ensure your safety and enjoyment.
75 camping and caravanning pitches are available, graded with four ticks by the English Tourist Board. Facilities include electrical 'hook-ups', showers and toilets with wheelchair access, a well-equipped playground and landscaped picnic areas.
Angling: public course fishing is permitted between dawn and dusk. Day tickets are available from the lakeside bailiffs.
Residential: accommodation in our 34-bed dormitories can be booked in advance by organised groups.
Hatfield Water Park is open between April and October.
For centuries wildlife and human activities have co-existed here, interlacing to create a mosaic of natural and manmade features.
This low lying area was once dense forest and wet, boggy heath. Earliest settlements probably developed on gravel mounds when people began to clear the forest. Hatfield sits on one such gravel island.
Edwin, first Christian King of Northumbria, is said to have built a palace where Manor House now stands. Edwin was defeated and killed in 633 at the battle of Hatfield by Penda, pagan King of Mercia. At this time Hatfield was the name of a region extending towards Nottingham. Although tradition has it that the battle took place near Hatfield village, evidence suggests it was actually fought near Edwinstowe.
At the time of the Domesday Book (1086) Hatfield village and Chase were part of the Fee of Conisbrough - a large area given to William de Warenne by his father-in-law William the Conqueror. Hatfield Chase was the largest deer park in England, stretching from Armthorpe to the Isle of Axholme and North of the River Idle to Goole. The Chase was a Royal forest between the mid fourteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Thousands of red deer and other species were managed for hunting. Royal ownership ended in 1629.
A Royal hunting lodge from 1347 until 1629, parts of the house date from the 12th century, with later additions. Edward III's second son, William de Hatfield was born here in 1336 while Queen Phillippa awaited Edward's Return from fighting the Scots. Prince William died soon after and was buried at York. Geoffrey Chaucer, famed for his Canterbury Tales, lived here around 1358 as squire to Lionel, third son of Edward III.
Local landscape was mainly peat bog and marsh, regularly flooded by the rivers Don, Torne, Idle Went and Aire. In the early 1600's James I wanted to drain and reclaim the land. By 1626 Charles I commissioned Cornelius Vermyden, a Dutch engineer, to achieve this. Vermuyden's scheme reduced the Don from three channels to one and produced a landscape still seen today. However, the work was badly planned and carried out, causing floods elsewhere. Local people protested bitterly as land was taken into private ownership and they lost an important source of hay and pasture.
Satisfactory drainage of the wider area was finally achieved this century and an Internal Drainage Board now manages the situation.
If you require further information about countryside sites or activities please email us at countryside.interpretation@doncaster.gov.uk
