Diss park & mere
The kids love it in Diss. If the weather is nice we usually pop into the pet shop to get some duck food and feed the ducks. Yesterday, we also visited the park. This is one of the best parks we've been to! We will definitiely try to visit again in the holidays. We're always on the look out for cheap / free days out and this was lovely. I highly recommend it. Diss Town Council have done good.
Described as a ‘wonderful oasis in the heart of Diss’, our six-acre mere and adjoining park are right in the heart of our historic market town.
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Saxon for ‘ditch of standing water’, Diss takes its name from the mere that forms the heart of the town. According to ancient folklore, the Mere was a bottomless pit formed in the crater of an extinct volcano. Geology, however, suggests it was formed by a glacier retreat back in the last Ice Age. Or, perhaps, a clay-filled depression formed out of the chalk which sits around 100 feet below the surface. The truth? Nobody knows for sure.
Home to over 50,000 fish, the mere’s also housed a few more extraordinary items over the years including: a £20 note, an acrylic cast of a human head and a 122lb (55kg) 8ft catfish. It's also home to a wide variety of waterfowl, but is best-known for its ducks.
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Facilities include:
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A Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA)
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Children’s play equipment
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Public toilets
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Picnic benches overlooking the mere
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Kiosk selling snacks, drinks and ice creams located in the Park Pavilion.
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Park hire:
The park can be hired for events and functions by arrangement with the Town Council.
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Take a tour of the Park via our photo slideshow:
Did you know?
Feeding wilds birds too many carbohydrates (such as bread) eventually leads to obesity, which in turn makes them sluggish and unable to fly. This makes it harder for them to evade predators such as foxes and dogs. Wild ducks and waterfowl will live longer, healthier lives eating natural food such as aquatic plants, grasses and insects.
So, if you want to feed the birds on the mere, try deseeded grapes cut in half, cracked corn, oats or other grains or frozen peas or sweetcorn that’s been defrosted. If you can, please give them food out of the water and from the Park side of the Mere (to stop the pigeons from nabbing the grub!).