Summer Walk, Fontburn Reservoir - Tuesday 30th July 2019.

     

After recent outings to both town and coastal areas, the clubs summer programme continued on Tuesday 30th
July 2019 with a visit to the Northumberland countryside. Walk Number Seven saw members meet for a wander
around Fontburn Reservoir. Owned and managed by Northumbrian Water, it supplies fresh drinking water to the
south east of the county whilst preserving a natural habitat for nature and wildlife. The reservoir is also a popular
fishery and offers top class fishing for fly and bait anglers alike. Many of the rainbow and brown trout released at
Fontburn are from its own on site fish farm.

   

Leaving the north shore car park, we walked south across the dam wall and paused to photograph the castellated
victorian valve tower, pier and overflow. Although water levels were quite low, the reservoir can hold 730 million
gallons of water, with a maximum depth of 80 feet. The group continued in a south westerly direction passing the
visitor center and shop in the south shore car park as a skein of canada geese joined others resting on the shore.
Joining the waterside trail we followed an established footpath through mixed woodland of Silver Birch, Ash, Elder,
and Scots Pine. Several sections of raised wooden boardwalks and two wooden bridges make this a gentle, easy
to follow trail with viewpoints both across to the north shore and along the waters edge.

   

Unfortunately the light was not so good and members concentrated on close up images of trees, flowers, fungi, rocks
and water. Stopping at the nature reserve at the west end of the lake we went down onto the now exposed shore and
decided that this was a good halfway point and that it was time to turn around and follow the same route back. The
threatened heavy rain did not materialise and the dull and cloudy conditions did not spoil this gentle, slow paced walk
as we looked for texture and patterns in natural things. The slight breeze dropped as we again crossed the Fontburn
valley via the dam wall. Last images of the reservoir structures and of the twelve arch disused stone viaduct that used
to carry the old North British Scots Gap to Rothbury railway line were then captured, as we returned to our start point.
It was nice to see some different club members joining in and a big thank you to everyone who attended.

Davy Bolam.