Pitsford Reservoir
Following the conversion of Bella, our camper van we chose a familiar destination for our first outing. The destination was Pitsford Reservoir in Northamptonshire. As we live just to the south of Leicester the reservoir is relatively close to us.
A bit of history on the reservoir. It is a part of the Anglian Water supply system and is located 5 miles north of Northampton. The reservoir was built in 1955 to supply Northampton with water.
In 1970 the whole reservoir was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) principally because of the large numbers of wildfowl. As a designated SSSI, Pitsford Reservoir plays host to a diverse range of fascinating species and is a haven for wildlife. In winter up to 10,000 birds can be seen, including wigeon, gadwall, pintail and teal.
The northern half of the reservoir is a designated nature reserve and is particularly good for avid birdwatchers, with a range of diving birds, waders and more. The nature reserve is accessible by permit which can be bought from the fishing lodge.
In warmer months various boats and rafts can be seen as the reservoir is also home to Northampton Sailing Club.
There are two public car parks at Pitsford Reservoir open every day except Christmas Day: Causeway Car Park and Grange Lane Car Park.
Our preferred parking spot is at the causeway parking area which overlooks the southern side of the reservoir. This spot has a small rocky “beach” area and is a favourite spot for many of the local birds including swans, ducks and geese. This a perfect spot to relax for a few hours and watch the local wildlife come and go. On this occasion we spent about 5 hours. Time flies when you are relaxing and switching off from the world.
Apparently there is even the option to pay for parking with apples!!
We were greeted at the car park by a very friendly young adult swan. On our previous visits it was a small cygnet. It was nice to see it grow.
Regular visitors come to feed the birds during day, it is fascinating to watch them all flock when someone appears with bird seed or bread. All the birds make way when the swans arrive though.
Timelapse video made from about 600 photos:
There are seven miles of tracks which follow all the inlets and coves around the perimeter of the reservoir. All the paths are hard-surfaced, so they’re perfect for cycling, nice to walk on and fully accessible to prams and wheelchair users. We have yet to walk the full perimeter of the reservoir, but have ventured about 1 mile each way from the car park.
We always make sure we have enough foods and drink for the stay. It is a lot easier now we have the camper van. During the summer there is usually an ice cream van at the Causeway car park, this is a welcome site on a rare hot summers day.
For those that aren’t prepared a small selection of snacks and drinks are available from the Pitsford Water Fishing Lodge. For something more comprehensive, there is the Willow Tree Café at the nearby Brixworth Country Park. This has a licensed bar and a wide range of hot and cold snacks and refreshments on offer, it’s the perfect place to take a break. From the Brixworth Country Park you can also can buy or hire a bike to take you around Pitsford Water.
Great piece Ant 😊