A Day Out at Kielder Water

We headed a little bit further away for this weeks walk at Kielder. The plan was to take the Osprey Ferry across from Tower Knowe to Belvedere and then walk back to Tower Knowe. I am happy to report that it went like clockwork and proved to be a very enjoyable 7 mile walk. The actual walk is only 5.5 miles but we took a few detour's to visit some of the  extra features built round the reservoir. 

Only 3 of us today as others are otherwise engaged.

The boat sailed close to this building which is mostly under water to the depth of about 170ft. 

At the start of the walk we met this contractor felling some of the older trees. He is a long way from home in Kyle of Lochalsh but forestry is such a big business it obviously pays him to work in Kielder Forest.

This is the Jetty at Belvedere and it took us a good 2 mile walk to get to this viewing place to photograph the jetty only a couple of hundred yards from where we landed 

The view towards the dam 

This is a shelter that can be adjusted to enable you to shelter from the prevailing wind

There were loads of wild flowers seen on our walk round the Reservoir but this really took my fancy. maybe somebody can identify it for me.  

There were several smaller valleys that provided inlets to the main body of water and these were most pleasant places to walk along. There is a family of Canada Geese in the picture.

We walked an extra mile to visit this feature called a Wave Chamber. A mirror and lens project an image of the moving waves onto the floor, while the structure amplifies the sound of the water. Maybe we did not sit in the dark long enough as we never saw the image, but we did hear the waves.  

At the dam there are special run offs for when the Reservoir overflows. This is the run off above the dam.  

And this is the run off below the dam. It would be rather spectacular when there is a lot of water flowing.

The Tower from the dam

In the final mile to Tower Knowe we found loads of these Orchid's. It was a lovely walk and we finished of with a snack at the Cafe at Tower Knowe. My only objection to the day was the £5 we paid to park which seems a bit excessive.