Carr Mill Dam is situated approximately 2 miles to the north of St Helens at SJ 525 985. Its western boundary is Carr Mill Road, with the Carr Mill / Clinkham Wood housing estate beyond. To the northwest there is agricultural land, and the northern boundary is a farm track (Otterswift Road) which has a fishing pond adjacent to it. This pond is what remains of the once bird-rich digpits. The northeastern banks are adjoined by agricultural fields, whilst half way along the eastern side, Carr Mill Dam meets the Goyt Valley. This site is particularly rich in flora and is one of the few areas of ancient woodland in the borough. In the southeast corner of the dam is the St Helens to Wigan railway line, which has a link with the Sankey Valley Park running underneath it. The southern bank of the dam runs parallel with the A580 East Lancashire Road.

Access

There is a large carpark at the south end of the dam, close to the Waterside Inn. This is reached by turning right off Carr Mill Road, just north of the A580 East Lancashire Road traffic lights. Birds on the dam are best viewed from a path that runs up the western bank to its furthest northwestern arm. There is another road that runs from the dam’s southeast corner, north up its eastern side. This provides access for houses and the power boat clubhouse, and it is advisable to walk this stretch as there is a chance of vehicles being locked behind a metal gate.  

Birds

Carr Mill Dam is one of the largest and deepest areas of freshwater in St Helens. It is one of the last lakes in the area to freeze in particularly cold weather, which leads to an increase in both its species and number of birds. Very often, in such conditions, its open pockets of unfrozen water attract unusual and locally uncommon species that have included Smew, Glaucous Gull and Dunlin. It has also proved to be a magnet for wind blown birds from the Irish Sea, and in periods of strong westerly gales it is always worth checking. Such species in the past years have included Guillemot, Shag, Kittiwake, Slavonian Grebe, Great Northern Diver, Eider and Long-tailed Duck. There is no overnight gull roost of note on the dam in winter, but species do bathe and rest-up regularly before heading for the Mersey and possibly the coast.

Mid-afternoon is perhaps the best time to check the gulls and 10 species have so far been recorded. The dam is home to one of the biggest Great Crested Grebe populations in Merseyside, with over 50 birds sometimes present, and Kingfisher, Little Grebe and Grey Wagtail are seen all year round. The dam’s wooded edges have attracted all three woodpeckers as well as Willow Tit, Sparrowhawk and migrant Pied Flycatcher and Wood Warbler. For more details regarding Carr Mill Dam contact the Groundwork Trust, 14 -27 Shaw Street, St Helens, and for bird information, St Helens Ranger Service, Sankey Valley Park, Blackbrook, St Helens.