Fewston Reservoir - North Yorkshire Nature

My pals Jase and Rob had told me about their trips to the Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs of North Yorkshire  on a number of occasions so I was very glad when we got the opportunity to visit them recently. The reservoirs are just off the A59 near Blubberhouses, and are a great environment for an easy walk.
With plenty of parking available this is a honey pot for walking and open air activities, but on this windy but fine Sunday the walk wasn't overcrowded. A walk around each reservoir takes a couple of hours, so a bit of sunshine and a good picnic means you could have a perfect day out.

On this occasion we opted for Fewston reservoir, which is a more elevated walk than that around Swinsty, offering some glimpses of the surrounding Washburn Valley.The path is very well maintained and is suitable for prams, pushchairs and wheelchairs too, which meant it was a pleasant easy walk.

There were great views of the water to be had all the way around. We saw plenty of geese stopping at the Lake on their migration.A look at the route description on the excellent Walking Englishman site informs that there is plenty of flora and fauna to enjoy on this walk, particularly in Spring. On this late Autumn there were less distractions to take our attention away from the great water scenery.

At the far end of the reservoir as we approached the car park at Blubberhouses we had a quite spectacular view of St. Andrews Church perched on the edge of the Blubberhouses Hall estate. The church is a great modern Gothic building that conjures up all kinds of imagery as you enjoy the site.

The walk back along the northern bank of the reservoir briefly joins the side of the A59 before heading back down to the water's edge alongside woodland.

 The walk back is straighforward and follows the water's edge, heading briefly into the wods before coming back out on the reservoir dam road, and from there it is a short walk back to the car park. This is a great family walk which I look forward to doing again.