I saw ‘Blue Lagoon’ bathers splashing in toxic soup
WE’VE all watched videos online of people doing stupid things on YouTube, and some of us will remember the “Jackass” films, in which a group of self-confessed idiots turned dangerous and painful stunts into a movie franchise. But on Bank Holiday Monday I got a chance to watch genuine human self-destruction in action.
I was sent, at the request of my editor, to report on what was likely to be a busy day at the so-called Blue Lagoon, near Buxton. The sun was shining, it was the nicest day of a three-day weekend, and the newsdesk had rightly assumed it would be a popular spot.
They weren’t wrong. It was heaving. Hundreds of people, pretty much all of whom appeared to be below the age of 25, had made a pilgrimage to this toxic lime dump to marvel at its bright blue pond.
Locals estimate there were 2,000 people flooding their village on that sunny day, and they were probably right. The traffic was jammed, as most of the influx of visitors had parked on the pavements either side of the main road through Harpur Hill. Driveways, bus stops and side roads were blocked and there was little hope of any emergency vehicles getting in and out.
And, as it turns out, the likelihood of an ambulance or a mountain rescue vehicle having to get to the former quarry would have been quite high, because, as I reached the privately-owned pit, it was quite apparent that very few of the visitors gave any serious regard to their personal safety.
The stench of cannabis filled the air as I walked around. This aroma was interrupted briefly by the more pleasant smell of barbecues that had been set up on the parched grass. And I spotted dozens of small gas canisters that are usually a sign of the misuse of nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas.”
And, before you start to wonder, the small matter of a current global virus pandemic hasn’t escaped me either. Social distancing didn’t seem high on the list of priorities for a lot of these people, nor was it clear how many of them did or did not appear to be congregating in their household groups.
But by far the most alarming sight I saw that day greeted me as I clambered up a mound to get a closer look at the lagoon itself, and its shores. Gathered next to the rusting remains of a car was a group of maybe half a dozen young people, and two of them were swimming in the water. Another two were paddling. One even treated the hundreds of people watching from the edge to a swandive, waving his legs in the air as he performed what looked like a handstand under the water.
As I watched this startling spectacle, I flicked back through the pictures I’d taken up on the way to the site and found a sign I’d passed. It spelled out the dangers of the water, pointing out that its PH level was the same as bleach. It also made it very clear that there were “old cars, animal carcasses and excrement” at the bottom of the pool. What, then, I wondered, possessed these youths to swim in the water? Were they illiterate? Drunk? High? Masochistic? Or a mix of all the above?
The blue colour of the water that attracts all the “Instagrammers”, picnickers and day-trippers is caused by the presence of calcium carbonate, and the water is a toxic soup of caustic chemicals left over from a lime-burning kiln that once towered over Harpur Hill.
It may look appealing to some, but it’s actually a rubbish dump. A giant hole dug out and then filled in with industrial, poisonous waste, that just happens to have filled up with rainwater and turned bright blue. Did I mention that, as it’s on privatelyowned land, it has no bins or toilets? I’ll leave that thought with you...
As I walked back to the village it dawned on me that many of the youngsters who had travelled in from various towns and cities were gathering at the Blue Lagoon not just because it’s been billed as a “beauty spot”, but perhaps because it’s become a safe haven for “getting up to no good”.
The local police have openly said they can’t do anything about the trespass issue because people invading private land is a civil matter, not a criminal offence. So maybe it’s not far-fetched to suggest that the Blue Lagoon has become known in certain circles as the perfect place to gather, away from prying eyes, and to get away with whatever sordid activity takes your fancy. Even if that’s just bathing in a potentially deadly stagnant pond.
Either way, this tucked-away former quarry has now become an amphitheatre of evidence to support Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Can you imagine what it’s like living in Harpur Hill at the moment?