Lakes and Reservoirs of the UK Quiz

Answer:

Lough Neagh has a surface area of just over 150 square miles (around 390 square km) and over 40% of Northern Ireland's drinking water comes from this lake. It is located about twenty miles (32 km) to the west of Belfast, which has its own large lake called Belfast Lough. This is more of a sea water inlet than a lake, though, despite the name. Further south, in County Down, is Silent Valley Reservoir, completed in 1933 after ten years of work. It is located in the region of the Mountains of Mourne, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and, like most reservoirs, is an attractive site in its own right.

Crossing over to Scotland takes us to Loch Morar, the deepest lake in the whole of the UK, not just in Scotland. It is located in the Highland region of the country and was formed by glaciation. At its deepest point, its depth has been measured as over 1,000 feet (310 m), which is about the same as the height of London's Shard building. Urquhart Castle's remains are found on the banks of Loch Ness, home (possibly) to Nessie. The loch is just over twenty miles (37 km) from Inverness, also in the Scottish Highlands. It is the largest lake in Scotland by the volume of water it contains, due to its depth, and the peaty ground means the waters are murky, making it easier to believe that something mysterious may be living there.

Moving to Wales, the Elan Valley has a series of reservoirs built in the late nineteenth century expressly to provided Birmingham with clean water. The Industrial Revolution had led to a large increase in Birmingham's population and an outbreak of diseases caused by the poor water quality led to a need for a better water supply. Wales is known for its high rainfall and the location and height of the Elan Valley meant building a pipeline to Birmingham was a relatively easy engineering task. The last of the reservoirs wasn't completed until the 1950s, partly due to the two worldwide wars which took place.

Further north in Wales is Bala Lake, situated in Snowdonia and known to the Welsh as Llyn Tegid. Engineering work was carried out by Thomas Telford to provide a water supply from Bala to the Ellesmere Canal used for industry at the time but now mainly enjoyed for leisure purposes. Roath Park, in Cardiff, is in the south of Wales and was created as a public park in the late nineteenth century. The lake there is manmade and designed just for enjoyment. It is the smallest of those listed in the quiz.

Moving to England, specifically Cumbria, we find Windermere, one of the many lakes in what is known as the Lake District. Windermere is England's largest lake, although its size is much smaller than the lakes of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Some water from Windermere is extracted to supply parts of the northwest, but leisure activities are more prominent. The region is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK and Windermere has boating and ferries as part of the attractions. A little further south is Lancashire, where the nature reserve of Martin Mere is located, bordering on the western coast. The lake has shrunk from the size shown on sixteenth century maps, but is now in a preservation area to protect it. The Wildlife and Wetlands Trust runs part of the area, devoted to providing a safe habitat for wildfowl. Many species arrive at Martin Mere during the winter when they migrate from colder regions.

Heading over to the east coast and further north takes us to Northumberland and the reservoir with the largest capacity in England. Located in Kielder Forest, itself an artificially created woodland, Kielder Water was finished in 1981 and filled with water the following year, although it has been described as something of a white elephant due to the loss of industry in the region. It does provide hydroelectric power, helping to reduce the UK's emissions.

In the Midlands of England is Rutland Water, England's largest reservoir by surface area and a haven for wildlife and fish, bringing many human visitors each year. It supplies water to Peterborough and other parts of Cambridgeshire. The final reservoir on our trip is in Somerset, in Chew Valley, named for the River Chew which feeds it with rainfall from the Mendip Hills. The artificial lake was created in the 1950s to provide water for the large city of Bristol and has been owned and managed by Bristol Water since its creation.

It is important to make the point that all the reservoirs around the country may have been created by humans, with the primary purpose of ensuring safe and clean water for human consumption, but wildlife doesn't discriminate and animals are just as happy making their homes there as they are to inhabit the UK's natural lakes. The visitors they attract proves that humans find them just as attractive too.