Carr Mill Dam has been a popular place for hikers and dog walkers for centuries.
However there may be more to the St Helens beauty spot than meets the eye.
For a number of years, rumours have bounced around the town about a possible 'village under Carr Mill Dam', with some people even claiming to be able to see the tops of buildings during a drought.
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Merseyside's largest body of water is thought to have been a large man-made consequence of the industrial revolution, with maps from the late 18th century beginning to show the outline of Carr Mill Dam.
Information from the St Helens Local History and Archives Library shows that major developments took place on the dam as a result of the developing railway links between Wigan and St Helens, which passed close-by the Carr Mill.
Around this time, the area became a hub for outdoor sports such as fishing and ice skating using homemade skates during the winter months when the dam would freeze over.
From this pioneering move, a national sports champion was born, Jack Hill, of nearby Billinge, became unofficial skating champion of England, and in a challenge match, brought nearly 20,000 spectators to Carr Mill Dam to see the face off.
Despite the rich and well-documented history of the dam, rumours stuck around of an 'underwater village' at Carr Mill Dam, however the accuracy of these claims is disputed.
One local said: "People say they can see steeple of the church popping up in a drought."
Another St Helens resident said: "My dad was a recovery diver I think in the 1960s and 1970s when they had the speedboats races [on the dam] , the boats then would lose their engines if they flipped, it was his job to recover them , he said the only thing down there was an old stone wall and the odd car."
While other locals attempted to disprove the existence by casting their memories back to the 1976 drought, in which the dam reportedly dried up and revealed nothing at the bottom, one said: "We were told as kids and believed it until the dam dried up and there was nothing at the bottom."
There is no evidence of any structure or town ever existing underneath the Merseyside dam, however this has not stopped the tale capturing the imaginations of the borough.
