Wistlandpound Reservoir is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

owned by South West Water. Completed in 1957, the earth embankment reservoir holds up to 1,550 megalitres (341 million gallons) and covers an area of 40 acres (16ha). Situated close to

Exmoor Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath ...

National Park, and managed jointly by

Forestry England Forestry England is a division of the Forestry Commission, responsible for managing and promoting publicly owned forests in England. It was formed as Forest Enterprise in 1996, before devolving to Forest Enterprise England on 31 March 2003 and ...

and The South West Lakes Trust, Wistlandpound is a popular recreation area, with bird watching, trout fishing, as well as boating and nature walking among the most popular activities. The Calvert Trust has a centre at the Reservoir, providing holiday and activity facilities for those with disabilities, and their families. The construction of the reservoir flooded part of the formation of the

Lynton and Barnstaple Railway The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B) opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track, narrow gauge railway and was slightly over long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, ...

, which can still be seen when water levels are low. The railway, which is being reconstructed, will follow an alternative route around the side of the reservoir. Wistlandpound reservoir is located at . The reservoir is used as a water supply, it supplies water to the (former)

Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along t ...

urban district (ilfracombe, berrynaurbour, Combe Martin, etc) since the disuse of the Slade reservoirs this task has fallen to wistlandpound reservoir, for a short time they would have co-existed as a water supply.

External links

Discover Wistlandpound

SouthWest Water

Wistlandpound Forestry England webpage
Nature reserves in Devon Drinking water reservoirs in England Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Reservoirs in Devon 1957 establishments in England {{Devon-geo-stub