Fontburn is a

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

reservoir situated northwest of the market town of Morpeth, and immediately to the east of Harwood Forest in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

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 has a surface area of 34.979 ha and a mean depth of 9.644 m, a catchment area of 3061 ha, and is situated at 185 m altitude.

History

The reservoir was built at the end of the 19th century to provide

for parts of southeast Northumberland.

Flora and fauna

The north shore is mainly vegetated with scrub and woodland, including

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is an Old World species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is locally naturalized in parts of the New World. The fruits are used to make sloe gin in Britain and patxaran in Basq ...

, elder,

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

, hawthorn, and

hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

Common spotted orchid ''Dactylorhiza maculata'' subsp. ''fuchsii'', the common spotted orchid, is a subspecies of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. ''Dactylorhiza maculata'' subsp. ''fuchsii'' is one of Europe's most common wild orchids. It is widespr ...

s grow in the base-rich flushed areas. At the extreme south eastern corner of the site there is an area of marshy grassland with abundant

meadow-sweet ''Filipendula ulmaria'', commonly known as meadowsweet or mead wort, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Rosaceae that grows in damp meadows. It is native throughout most of Europe and Western Asia (Near East and Middle East). It has ...

wild angelica ''Angelica sylvestris'' or wild angelica is a species of flowering plant, native to Europe and central Asia. An annual plant, annual or short-lived perennial plant, perennial growing to a maximum of , it has erect purplish stems and rounded umbe ...

common knapweed ''Centaurea nigra'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and is also known as lesser knapweed, common knapweed, black knapweed and bell weed. It is native to central Europe, and has been introduced to temperate North America ...

, and

sneezewort ''Achillea ptarmica'' is a Eurasian species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the genus ''Achillea''. Common names include the sneezewort, sneezeweed, bastard pellitory, European pellitory, fair-maid-of-France, goose tongue, sneezewort y ...

and where there is periodic flooding of the shore you can also find species like common spike rush, reed canary grass, lesser spearwort, and amphibious bistort. The presence of four British reptiles;

common lizard The viviparous lizard or common lizard (''Zootoca vivipara'', formerly ''Lacerta vivipara'') is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other non-marine reptile species, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it give ...

, adder,

slowworm The common slow worm (''Anguis fragilis'') is a species of legless lizard native to western Eurasia. It is also called a deaf adder, blindworm, or regionally, a long-cripple, steelworm, and hazelworm. The "blind" in blindworm refers to the lizar ...

, and

grass snake The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian semi-aquatic non- venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecie ...

, and five of Britain’s native amphibians;

common frog The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog or simply the frog, is a semi ...

common toad The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (''Bufo bufo'', from Latin ''bufo'' "toad"), is a toad found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, parts of Scandinavia, and some List ...

smooth newt The smooth newt, European newt, northern smooth newt or common newt (''Lissotriton vulgaris'') is a species of newt. It is widespread in Europe and parts of Asia, and has been introduced species, introduced into Australia. Individuals are brown ...

palmate newt The palmate newt (''Lissotriton helveticus'') is a species of newt found in Western Europe, from Great Britain to the northern Iberian Peninsula. It is long and olive or brown with some dark spots. The underside is yellow to orange, and the thr ...

, and

great crested newt The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to ...

mean that this an extremely valuable and important wildlife site. The grass snake records for Fontburn make this one of the most northerly authenticated colonies of this species in Britain. 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 ...

, Fallowlees Flush, lies immediately to the west of Fontburn, on the slopes of one of its tributary streams.

Fishing

The reservoir is regularly stocked with trout and is a favoured place with fresh water anglers. As one of the operator's smaller sites, Fontburn Reservoir claims "a reputation as being a friendly, family orientated fishery". For more information on visiting Fontburn Reservoir go t
NWWaterside Parks

Ancient monuments

Close to the reservoir there are ancient

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

sites which are easily reached on foot. The area is also popular with hill walkers.

References

External links

Fishing at Fontburn Reservoir
{{authority control Drinking water reservoirs in England Reservoirs in Northumberland