Eccup Reservoiris areservoirinAlwoodley,a suburb ofLeeds,West Yorkshire,England,near the village ofEccup.It was first constructed in 1843,[1]and expanded to its present size in 1897. The open water area is 91 hectares (220 acres),[2]making it largest area of water inWest Yorkshire.[3]It receives water from several smaller reservoirs and from theRiver Ouse.The reservoir is owned byYorkshire Water.
| Eccup Reservoir | |
|---|---|
 Eccup Reservoir at sunset | |
  Eccup Reservoir | |
| Location | Alwoodley,Leeds,West Yorkshire |
| Coordinates | 53°52′08″N1°32′36″W/ 53.86889°N 1.54333°W |
| Type | Reservoir |
| Basincountries | United Kingdom |
| Managing agency | Yorkshire Water |
| Designation | SSSI |
| Surface area | 91 ha (220 acres) |
The reservoir and the surrounding woodlands are bothSites of Special Scientific Interest.[4][5]The western end of the reservoir is the most vegetated. Fringing vegetation includesshore-weed(Littorella uniflora) andamphibious bistort(Persicaria amphibia), and such sedges asbottle sedge(Carex rostrata) andbladder sedge(Carex vesicaria), as well as taller stands ofbulrush(Typha latifolia) andcommon spike-rush(Eleocharis palustris). Bladder sedge is rare in the county, only having been recorded at two other sites.[5]The reservoir is now home to a growing population ofred kites.[3]
The reservoir is visited by large numbers of migrating and overwintering wading birds and waterfowl. The most significant of these is thegoosander,with up to 2% of the British population overwintering here. Others includewigeon,teal,pochard,shelduck,shoveler,ruddy duck,goldeneye,greylag goose,dunlinandgreen sandpiper,whilemallardandtufted duckare present all year round, as arecurlew,redshankandcommon sandpiper.[5]
There are 25geocachesaround Eccup Reservoir,[6]making it a popular place with walkers. A circular walk of about 5 mi (8 km) around the reservoir is possible.[7]
References
edit- ^The Leeds MercurySaturday, 3 June 1843; Issue 5713, Local Intelligence
- ^Natural England[permanent dead link]Eccup Reservoir SSSI – open water
- ^ab"Alwoodley Parish Council".Archivedfrom the original on 28 October 2009.Retrieved1 August2010.
- ^Natural EnglandArchived25 October 2012 at theWayback MachineEccup Reservoir SSSI – overall
- ^abc"Eccup Reservoir citation"(PDF).Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England.Retrieved24 March2020.
- ^Geocaching."Geocaching – The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site".Geocaching.Archivedfrom the original on 9 January 2018.Retrieved8 January2018.
- ^"Eccup Reservoir Walk".walksinyorkshire.Archivedfrom the original on 13 January 2018.Retrieved12 January2018.
External links
edit
Media related toEccup Reservoirat Wikimedia Commons
Yorkshire portal- Map of the reservoir and walk around it
- Red Kites in Yorkshire
