rashbre central: a brief wander through Kielder forest and along the water

Wednesday 5 August 2015

a brief wander through Kielder forest and along the water

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Further north today and into the Kielder Forest, which contains the Kielder Observatory and also the famous Kielder Water.

Both the forest and the 27 mile circumference lake are man-made and are also both the largest man-made forest and man-made lake in Europe. A further claim is that Kielder is one of the least light polluted areas in the UK (hence the placement of the star observatory).

The reservoir serves the three main river areas of Tyne, Wear and Tees was built in the 1970s and opened by Queen Elizabeth in 1982.

They've also build a hydro power station served from the same water supply. And yes, it's England's largest hydro electric plant.

It may look like a quiet area, but there's plenty going on.

2 comments:

Pat said...

This is quite new to me. I used to enjoy walking round lakes.

rashbre said...

Pat I think Kielder was flooded in the 1980s with some involvement from Thatcher and then the official opening by Queen Elizabeth. I think it took about 7 years start to end, with only 6 weeks for the public enquiry. The reservoir took about 2 years to fill with water.