It also means trying to catch a sight of the monitors lazing in the sun beside the water and marvelling at the size of the fish that seem to get bigger every visit.

For many children, the lake provides their first up-close-and-personal interaction with animals outside their household pets and a chance to appreciate our great natural beauty.

Sadly, though, it seems the swans who have brought so much joy to so many Bathurstians may soon be leaving the park.

Animal welfare authorities fear the birds are suffering malnutrition because there is not enough natural food inside the lake enclosure to keep them healthy – and they cannot clear the fence to fly away.

The swans’ plight was highlighted by the terrible deaths of the three cygnets that so captured Bathurst’s heart when they hatched 18 months, with each dying in unrelated – but tragic – circumstances.

Malnutrition could also have played a role in those deaths, raising fears that the adult swans might also be ailing.

The first job will be to properly assess the health of the swans before deciding if they can be relocated or released into the wild.

WIRES, National Parks and Bathurst Regional Council have already started talks to find the right solution for the swans and we trust they will come to the right conclusion.

Bathurst would be sad to see them go, but we would be much sadder to see them go on being trapped behind a park fence.

That’s no life for such majestic creatures.