Relaxation Upon The Waters

  When living on campus, it is always nice to have a place to relax, whether it is a nearby cafe or a secluded area to sit and relax. Personally, I like to sit and relax or walk along the lakes on campus and I'm grateful for the fact that the university of York has them, one on each side of the campus. There's also a river not too far from campus that I can walk to whenever I feel the need to relax but don't want to be on campus.

  From where I am situated on campus, the closest body of water is the lake on west campus. Campus west lake is rather large; it stretches from Derwent College to Wentworth College and flows through the center of west campus.

(Central area of campus west lake)

Because of its location, there is a trail running along the edges as well as many places to sit and relax. A particular place that I like occupying is a seating area at Greg’s Place that juts over the central part of the lake. There's ample room to sit comfortably and read a book while observing the waterfowl that swims by. Whenever it's gloomy and raining or the middle of the night, this place feels like a secluded alcove in the middle of an open area that I can figuratively hide in and be separate from the world. A place where nothing disturbs me unless I want it to.

(Favorite spot at Greg’s Place)

Speaking of waterfowls, I have never seen so many congregated around one lake in my entire life. There are flocks of a variety of geese as well as mallards, moorhens, and more. They usually are swimming along together or lying along the lakeside and when they do, they often obstruct the trail. Campus west lake is a great place whenever I want to sit and observe the geese and ducks or if I want to walk along an established trail to relieve some stress without stepping in mud.

(Group of mallard ducks)

However, since the lake flows through the center of campus, there are plenty of people walking, sitting, and chatting along the trails and benches. The water of the lake is also not the best. With the number of waterfowl that occupy this lake, the water is often murky and gives off an unpleasant smell and the lake is not self cleaning because it's man made. Personally, the amount of traffic that surrounds the lake prevents me from using the lake as a place of relaxation often. I usually use it during the early morning or late night when there aren't a lot of people. If one does not mind the noise and traffic then it's a great place to relax, but if one does, I highly suggest the lake on East Campus.

  Since I live on campus west, it usually takes me five to ten minutes to walk to the campus east lake. It's worth the walk, however, because the lake is more off to the side of campus and not in the center.

(Overview of campus east lake)

Campus east lake is also relatively big and has waterfowl, although less than campus west lake. It is also the lake where the black swan - that the university of York is famous for having - can be seen, so if you want to catch a glimpse of the black swan, walking along the edge of campus east lake is your best bet.

(The black swan with its group)

The lake is also much cleaner so there aren’t any unpleasant odors and the water is very clear. Since the lake is off to the side, there are no established trails along the edge, meaning there are significantly fewer people walking along the lake, making it a very nice, quiet, and almost secluded area to relax. However, since there are no established trails, there are also no seating areas or benches alongside the edge of the lake to sit and relax. Campus east lake is more for walking and observing than sitting and observing unless you bring your own sitting stool or don't mind sitting on the grass. I don't mind that there aren't any benches because I like walking right along the edge of the lake and getting up close to the water. Being able to see the clarity the water has makes me feel like it's a gateway to the world underneath with how I can easily see through the water to what lies beneath, allowing me to forget my worries and stress that reality causes and delve into my creativity and imagination of developing other worlds that are not our own.

(Walking right along the edge)

It's definitely a great place for quiet contemplation and relaxation while one walks. Although, I do sometimes want to relax and get off of campus and for that, I usually go to the river.

  The river is called the River Ouse and is a twenty to thirty minute walk away from campus. There are plenty of benches to sit and relax well as a trail to walk along, though the trail does have some distance from the river. There is also a concrete path that juts out of the riverside where people can sit and fish but I use this path to walk right alongside the river. There's something different between walking along the river and walking along the lakes that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it's the fact that the river is not contained but rather free flowing in its sense of being, allowing deeper, more reflective thoughts to rise to the forefront of my mind. I feel like I can have deeper reflections that leads to a deeper sense of relaxation while walking along the river because the current feels like it could gather my stressful thoughts and wash them downstream, away from me. Or maybe it is the feeling of a much deeper depth to the river that makes me feel like I'm staring into the abyss.

(The concrete path alongside the river)

It is a public area so it does receive a lot of traffic where people are walking and cycling but not as much as campus west lake. There is also a bridge called the Millennium Bridge that one can cross to get to the other side and on the other side, if you follow the path, there's a park called Rowntree  Park that has a reading cafe where one can relax and read from their selection of books while getting some tea or coffee.

(Reading cafe in Rowntree Park)

I use this part of the river to relax in the afternoon after I have done some reading or studying and want to get away from campus but not too far. The area also has very few ducks and geese - unless one goes to the park - that roam around but a lot of people do bring their dogs for walks, so there are friendly creatures walking around. Overall, I personally think that the river is a great place to go whenever I want to relax and be off campus because it has both trails and benches that I can use as well as a nearby reading cafe in case I want to drink or a bite to eat.  

(View of the River Ouse from Millennium Bridge)