Fewston Reservoir is located in the

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influe ...

valley north of

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

and west of

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It was built in 1879. The capacity is about 3.5 million cubic metres. It can be found from the

A59 road The A59 is a major road in England which is around long and runs from Wallasey, Merseyside to York, North Yorkshire. The alignment formed part of the Trunk Roads Act 1936, being then designated as the A59. It is a key route connecting Merseysi ...

. The overflow from the reservoir feeds directly into the adjoining

Swinsty Reservoir Swinsty Reservoir is a reservoir in the Washburn valley north of Otley and west of Harrogate in Yorkshire, England. Construction began in 1871 and was completed in 1878. The capacity is about 866 million gallons, with a surface area of 63 hect ...

. Formerly, this overflow was encircled by a metal walkway from which floodboards could be lowered, but this has since been removed. The reservoir is the property of

Yorkshire Water Yorkshire Water is a British water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company ...

, which manages it for the benefit of walkers, anglers and wildlife. Situated in the charming Washburn valley, sharing an embankment with Swinsty Reservoir, Fewston is popular with walkers and runners. Cyclists and horse-riders can also make use of their own permitted tracks in the surrounding woodlands.

Construction

The reservoir was built by the Leeds Waterworks Company under the management of Robert Brooks. Consultants were

Thomas Hawksley Thomas Hawksley ( – ) was an English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with early water supply and coal gas engineering projects. Hawksley was, with John Frederick Bateman, the leading British water engineer of the n ...

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and Edward Filliter of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. Work began in 1874 and was completed in 1879.Lesser Railways of the Yorkshire Dales and the Dam Builders in the Age of Steam by Harold D Bowtell, Early in the work,

Fewston Fewston is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated north of Otley and close to Swinsty and Fewston reservoirs. St Michael and St Lawrence's Church, Fewston mostly dates from 1697, although the t ...

Mill was demolished, as was West House Mill at

Blubberhouses Blubberhouses is a small village and civil parish in the Washburn Valley in North Yorkshire, England. The population as at the 2011 Census was less than 100, so details were included in the civil parish of Fewston. In 2015, North Yorkshire Co ...

, with the stone going to build a wall around the reservoir. Much of the machinery, including the locomotives for the

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

, came from the construction of neighbouring

Accessibility

There are accessible toilets at Swinsty Moor car park with accessible parking there and at Blubberhouses car park. There are no steps, stiles or gates and the reservoir features wide, well surfaced paths with only a few moderate inclines.

References

External links

Yorkshire Water
– Fewston Reservoir Drinking water reservoirs in England Reservoirs in North Yorkshire {{NorthYorkshire-geo-stub