The Mere, Kentmere

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Today it's a tranquil trout fishery, but a lot's happened here. An archaeological excavation uncovered two Viking-era boats, one now in Kendal museum and the other in London's National Maritime Museum. Later the lake became marshland, but it was purposely drained in 1840 to provide pasture. During the 1950s and 60s - a lake once more; the drainage wasn't very good - diatomite* was dredged, using a barge, a tug, and an array of clanking overhead buckets to the processing plant at the south of the lake. This industry increased the Mere's size substantially. When the dredging ceased, the lake was left to the frogs and wildfowl until it was bought in the 1990s and stocked with some sincerely delicious trout.

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomite - it's curious stuff.