Areas
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Cannop PondsPhoto James Kelly-Smith / Unsplash
Hand-picked places worth the detour, starred by the Albion Guide. 32 in the Albion Guide.
Quiet canal-feeder reservoir near Byfield with a lakeside path, fishing and sailing in the far south-west of the county.
Northamptonshire
A tranquil fishing and birdwatching reservoir below Stoke Dry, once used by the Dambusters for practice runs.
Rutland
Large reservoir north of Northampton ringed by a nature reserve, cycle track and sailing water, with wide open views.
Picturesque reservoir edged by woods and moorland trails in the West Pennine Moors above Chorley.
Lancashire
Handsome reservoir ringed by gritstone edges and RSPB moorland where Saddleworth meets the Peak District.
Greater Manchester
Wooded reservoir on the edge of Lymm village, a peaceful circular walk of water, dingle and gorge.
Cheshire
String of reservoirs below the West Pennine Moors, ringed by walking, cycling and riding trails.
Pair of tranquil forest ponds in the heart of the Forest of Dean, ringed by an easy walk.
Gloucestershire
A small glacial lough tucked beneath Highshield Crags, one of the most striking spots on the central Wall walk.
Northumberland
Quieter of the two Frensham ponds, ringed by reed and heath with a boardwalk trail through the surrounding common.
Surrey
Gateway to the Peak's northern moors, a lakeside and woodland walk below the gritstone edges west of Barnsley.
South Yorkshire
Two-mile reservoir in wooded hills near Leek, ringed by a shore path and served by a miniature steam railway, its name borrowed by Kipling's parents.
Staffordshire
Popular reservoir below the Roaches with a shore trail, visitor centre and grand views up to the gritstone edge.
Four Victorian reservoirs built to feed the Grand Union Canal on the Chiltern edge near Tring, now a noted birdwatching reserve.
Hertfordshire
Twin lakes in Milton Keynes with a lakeside park, watersports and a Buddhist Peace Pagoda on the northern shore.
Buckinghamshire
Small ornamental loch amid pines above Glencoe village with easy walking trails and glen views.
Glencoe
Cluster of small lochans in Glen Feshie near Kincraig with a short trail to the Farletter crag viewpoint over Strathspey.
Kincraig
The lowest Elan Valley reservoir, its dam designed to spill in a sheet across the full width of the valley.
Powys
Long reservoir in the hills above Llanidloes, held back by Britain's tallest concrete buttress dam of its era.
Small glacial tarn in a cwm below Corn Du, wrapped in fairy-lake folklore.
Glacial lake in a cirque on the north side of Pumlumon, the source of the River Rheidol.
Ceredigion
Upland reservoir in the Cambrian Mountains below Pumlumon, in a little-visited valley with open access to the hills.
Large reservoir in a wooded valley with a lakeside path and good birdwatching, stocked with brown trout.
Cluster of natural upland lakes at around 1,500 feet near the source of the River Teifi, above Pontrhydfendigaid.
A wooded reservoir lake in a side valley above Trefriw, a quiet walking and fishing spot.
Conwy
A lake in the Gwydir Forest above Trefriw, one of the few in Eryri allowing powered watersports.
A pair of upland lakes owned by the National Trust above the Mawddach near Arthog, with views of Barmouth Bridge.
Gwynedd
Twin lakes at Capel Curig giving one of the classic reflected views of the Snowdon Horseshoe.
Man-made lakes on the Stackpole estate, covered in water lilies in June and part of a nature reserve.
Pembrokeshire
Large reservoir in the hills between Usk and Pontypool, with a visitor centre, lakeside trails and watersports.
Monmouthshire
Reservoir on the southern edge of the Beacons with a circular cycle path and the Brecon Mountain Railway along its shore.
Merthyr Tydfil
Remote reservoir among conifer plantations west of Trecastle, with a lakeside walking and cycling loop.
Carmarthenshire
