Eyebrook Reservoir

Eyebrook Reservoir
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Ice on the water in winter
Area of Search Leicestershire
Rutland
Grid reference SP 852 955 [1]
Interest Biological
Area 201.3 hectares[1]
Notification 201.3[1]
Location map Magic Map

Eyebrook Reservoir (or Eye Brook Reservoir) is a 201.3-hectare (497-acre) reservoir and biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which straddles the border between Leicestershire and Rutland, and is between Corby and Uppingham.[1][2]

The reservoir was formed by the damming of the Eye Brook. It was built between 1937 and 1940 by Stewarts & Lloyds (supervised by Geoffrey Binnie of Binnie & Partners)[3][4] to supply water to their Corby steel works, now part of Tata Steel, formerly Corus.[5] During the Second World War it was used in May 1943 as a practice site for the Dambuster raids, standing in for the Möhne Reservoir; a plaque commemorates this.[5][6][7]

The reservoir is an important site for wintering wildfowl, such as wigeon, teal, mallard and pochard. Other habitats are marsh, mudflats, grassland, broad-leaved woodland and plantations.[8]

There is no public access to the reservoir, which is reserved for a trout fishery,[9] but it can be viewed from a public footpath which runs along part of the eastern side.[2]

References

View towards Stoke Dry
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Designated Sites View: Eye Brook Reservoir". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Map of Eye Brook Reservoir". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  3. ↑ Muir Wood, Sir Alan (1990). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society: Geoffrey Morse Binnie (13 November 1908 - 5 April 1989). London: Royal Society. pp. 45–57.
  4. ↑ "Eyebrook Reservoir". Domesday Reloaded. BBC. 1986. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Video: Flypast marks 70 years since Dambuster Raids". Harborough Mail. 2013-05-16. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  6. ↑ Arquati, Richard (16 May 2013). "Air Tattoo to Salute Dambusters". Press releases. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  7. ↑ "Operation Chastise". Bomber command. Royal Air Force. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  8. ↑ "Eye Brook Reservoi citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  9. ↑ "Eyebrook Trout Fishery". Rutland Gillies. Retrieved 12 September 2017.

Coordinates: 52°33′04″N 0°44′42″W / 52.551°N 0.745°W / 52.551; -0.745

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.