Węgrów Lagoon by the River Liwiec

Our local Ukrainian friends Anastasia and Constantine, who have a car, invited us to spend another Sunday at a resort lake. In fact, we had not planned visiting Węgrów Lagoon by the River Liwiec. We had planned to spend a relaxed day at Zimna Woda Resort. I just tried to find more information on Zimna Woda – Cold Water Resort, Łuków, which we had visited last summer. It was good it had occurred to me. I saw an urgent notice about the temporary closure of that lake for bathing due to the exceeded level of enterococci bacteria. Therefore, we cancelled our planed visit to that nice place. Then I accidentally visited the website of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate and used the search engine there to find out about the bathing opportunities in the city of Węgrów just to see how the system works. I was lucky to find out the lake was fit for bathing.

Węgrów Lagoon (“Zalew Wegrowski” in Polish) is next to the Liwiec River, a tributary of the Bug River. The Liwiec flows through Węgrów. The area of the Węgrów Lagoon comprises 8.6 ha. It is located in the western part of Węgrów, on the left side of the Liwiec River. You can reach Węgrów by the provincial road 637 from Warsaw (79 km east of the center of Warsaw).

Morning atmosphere at the beach cafe, Węgrów Lagoon

The morning pleasure at Węgrów Lagoon

Visiting the bank of the River Liwiec during our stay at Węgrów Lagoon

The River Liwiec is close to Węgrów Lagoon

The lagoon has a bathing area on the left side of Liwiec (the higher one). There are two small islands on the lake. We saw several anglers who were trying to catch a handsome carp (the dominant species here), bleaks, ides and grass carp. The anglers have ten special fishing stands.
There is a water equipment rental, you can also play beach volleyball, have a barbecue or picnic, or cycle around the Węgrów Lagoon. The cycling trail around Węgrów Lagoon is 1.5 miles long. The River Liwiec is across the path from the beach.

The biking trail around the Węgrów Lagoon

The biking trail around the Węgrów Lagoon; the River Liwiec is to the left of it

For children, there is a special playground on the beach. In addition, there is a catering point that offers snacks and ice-cream.

The lagoon renovation project was co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund. The project was called "The use of the Liwiec Valley for tourist purposes". It was implemented in Węgrów in 2007.

There were not many people on the beach in the morning, therefore, we found a nice place there. The majority of people came to the beach at noon. We saw the resort lake was very popular indeed. The water is clean and pleasant, and there is an attentive water rescue guard on the beach. We were glad to use a table for our home lunch.

We read the information boards about the tourist trails in the area.

The Nature Trail
The Liwiec Lagoon has been known as the place of relaxation and leisure.
The target object of the trail is the Armoury Museum in the Castle in Liw, which form the remains of a Gothic castle and a Baroque building county. This bicycle ride is an opportunity to observe the landscape, or to spot wild birds covered by the Directive "Natura 2000".

John Tvardowski Trail

On the trail you can see the beautiful Church of Basilica Minor, in which there is the legendary mirror of Master Twardowski. You can also have a look at the murals of Michel Angelo Palloni and see the image of the "Dance of Death" of an unknown author. Another point on the route is Liwiec Lagoon, where you can relax and have fun.

The Multicultural Trail

The trail is for all history lovers, especially those interested in historical monuments and cultural heritage.
Objects on the Route represent the various cultural circles:

• the Baroque Reformed church and the Minor Basilica;
• the Protestant wooden church from 1679 and the surrounding cemetery with tombstones from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, including the graves of the Scots;
• the Evangelical church from 1838;
• the Jewish memorial, the Rabin's House, the monument to Angela Rosenblat;
• the notable object is an eighteenth-century secular architecture - the House of Gdańsk.

Ducks near the city beach

Węgrów Lagoon in the afternoon

A swan family on the River Liwiec

The River Liwiec flows parallel to Węgrów Lagoon

Passing one of the circles in Węgrów on the way back to Siedlce

Galeria Węgrów Shopping Mall/Lidl Supermarket in Węgrów