With its turquoise waters lapping against pebbled shores and surrounded by verdant greenery, it is a lake that seems set in paradise.
In fact, it is a disused North Yorkshire quarry — and the bright blue lagoon is so-coloured because it is flushed with calcite from surrounding limestone.
Now, owners of the site, Threshfield Quarry near Grassington, are set blast it from existence — because hundreds of revellers keep descending on the apparent idyll for Ibiza-style parties.
Matters came to a head after an estimated 1,500 youngsters gathered there for an illegal lockdown rave on the late May Bank Holiday.
The party-goers, who are said to have come from across the north and been attracted by Instagram pictures, left the area strewn with beer cans, drugs paraphilia and sanitary products, locals report.
Sound systems had been set up. Several people were swimming in the water. Some were said to have been tombstoning from the lake’s steep sides — an especially dangerous practice because quarry waters are notoriously cold.
After police moved them on and temporarily shut the area, owners Tarmac now say they will close the site to the public for good.
The company had previously allowed the quarry, shut since 2000, to become a makeshift nature area while its future use was considered.
It has now drained the water and will now make a formal request to North Yorkshire County Council to blast away the sides this week.
A spokesman for the company said: “While located near a footpath, the lake is itself on private land and it is extremely important for people to be mindful of the many dangers posed by straying from public rights of way in the site.
“The lake at Threshfield, as with all quarry lakes, is not designed for people to swim in at any time. Quarry water may look inviting, but it is extremely cold with hidden hazards and risks that can include cold water shock and drowning.
“We hope that the works being carried out will enable the site to be enjoyed responsibly as originally intended in the not too distant future.”
It is not the first disused quarry where tropical-coloured waters have attracted visitors and swimmers.
At a similar site in Harpur Hill in Derbyshire, the bright blue lake is regularly dyed black to put off impromptu bathers unaware of the dangers. Signs there warn the water has a similar PH number to bleach.
