Blithfield Reservoir is a large

raw water Raw water is water found in the environment that has not been treated and does not have any of its minerals, ions, particles, bacteria, or parasites removed. Raw water includes rainwater, ground water, water from infiltration wells, and water fro ...

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 contr ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, England, owned by

South Staffordshire Water South Staffordshire Water plc known as South Staffs Water is a UK water supply company owned by a privately owned utilities company serving parts of Staffordshire the West Midlands as well as small areas of surrounding counties in England. Sout ...

. Some 800 acres (324 hectares) of reservoir was formed on land sold by

Baron Bagot Baron Bagot, of Bagot's Bromley in the County of Stafford, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created on 12 October 1780 for Sir William Bagot, 6th Baronet. Bagot family The Bagot family has held land in Staffordshire since at ...

to the South Staffordshire Water Works (SSWW) in the 1940s. Blithfield Reservoir was opened by

Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

on Tuesday 27 October 1953. Blithfieldres

The Reservoir is located just north-east of the town of

Rugeley Rugeley ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cannock Chase District in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the north-eastern edge of Cannock Chase next to the River Trent; it is situated north of Lichfield, south-east of Stafford, nor ...

and just south of

Abbots Bromley Abbots Bromley is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire and lies approximately east of Stafford, England. According to the University of Nottingham English Place-names project, the settlement name Abbots ...

The reservoir is a haven for wildlife, particularly birds, a fact that was recognised in 1988 when the reservoir and most of its surrounding woodland was designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

, (SSSI). Parts of the shoreline and surrounding woodland are only available to

birdwatchers Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

under a permit scheme, operated by the

West Midland Bird Club The West Midland Bird Club is the UK's largest regional ornithological society. It has been serving birdwatchers and ornithologists in the four English counties of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and (since its separation from the af ...

, but much of the open water is visible from the road causeway which crosses the reservoir (grid reference SK055235), and there is access to the dam end of the reservoir. There is also an education centre to facilitate visits by school parties. Blithfield was once a "members only" fly fishing destination, but, in recent years, it has been opened up to day ticket holders. Day tickets are available from the Estate Office. Blithfield reservoir walks give members of the public the chance to enjoy the area and its wildlife. The reservoir has been visited by many scarce and rare migrant

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s, including an inland Arctic warbler (1993),

Bonaparte's gull Bonaparte's gull (''Chroicocephalus philadelphia'') is a member of the gull family Laridae found mainly in northern North America. At in length, it is one of the smallest species of gull. Its plumage is mainly white with grey upperparts. During ...

(1994 and 1996),

blue-winged teal The blue-winged teal (''Spatula discors'') is a species of bird in the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. One of the smaller members of the dabbling duck group, it occurs in North America, where it breeds from southern Alaska to Nova Scoti ...

(1996 and 2000) and

squacco heron The squacco heron (''Ardeola ralloides'') is a small heron, long, of which the body is , with wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East. Behaviour The squacco heron is a migrant, wintering ...

(2004).

References

{{authority control Nature reserves in Staffordshire Drinking water reservoirs in England Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Staffordshire Borough of East Staffordshire Reservoirs in Staffordshire