Castle Oak pond, Usk
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Castle Oak pond, Usk by Roger Davies as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Castle Oak pond, Usk
Image: © Roger Davies Taken: 30 Mar 2008
This pond was originally excavated in the 1850s to provide water for the steam trains on the line between Little Mill and Monmouth. During the excavation skeletons were found believed to be those slain at the battle of Pwll Melyn in 1405 when Owen Glendower's forces were heavily defeated by those of Henry IV. The line was closed in 1955 by Lord Beeching. Despite now being totally surrounded by the Castle Oak housing estate the pond is home to a rare amphibian -the greater crested newt.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.706707
Longitude
-2.901115