Upper Tamar Lake
Upper Tamar Lake is a man-made lake created as a reservoir and which lies on the course of the River Tamar and on the border of Cornwall with Devon. It is owned by South West Water and managed by the South West Lakes Trust.[1]
The reservoir serves the water supply in the Bude area of Cornwall and surrounding districts, including such Devon villages as Clovelly, Bradworthy and Warbstow.[2]
The county boundary runs along the natural route of the River Tamar, which takes it through the middle of the lake, and thence through the Lower Tamar Lake, which is also on the county border.
History
The lake was planned as an expansion of the local water supply, and to avoid a potential drought in the area.[3] Work on the lake began in May 1973 by W. C. French (Construction) Ltd. It was constructed by placing a concrete gravity dam across the edge of the lake to retain water. Work was mostly complete by 1975, and it was officially opened in October 1977.[2]
The resultanat lake is about 80 acres in area[4] with a capacity of around 300 million gallons.[2]
Leisure
The lake is a popular place for water sports, including sailing, windsurfing and kayaking. There is a visitors centre near the lake, with camping facilities.[1] The Upper Tamar Sailing Club (UTLSC) is a group of regular sailors on the lake.[5] It is a popular coarse fishing lake,[6] with carp being a popular catch.[2] The lake is an area of special protection from birds under the Protection of Birds Acts 1954.[7]
See also
Outside links
- Location map: 50°53’2"N, 4°26’20"W
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Tamar Lakes". South West Lakes Trust. http://www.swlakestrust.org.uk/lakes-and-facilities/the-lakes/tamar-lakes. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Neale 2013, p. 20.
- ↑ "Resort Gripped By Drought". The Times. 4 July 1975. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=wes_ttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=CS68517092&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ↑ Landmark Visitors Guide Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly. Hunter Publishing. 2006. ISBN 978-184-306211-0.
- ↑ "Upper Tamar Sailing Club". http://www.utlsc.org.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ↑ "Walk 85 - Bude Canal Trails - around Tamar Lakes on the Devon and Cornwall border". Devon County Council. http://www.devon.gov.uk/walk85. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ↑ "Areas of Special Protection". Hansard. 3 March 2005. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/2005/mar/03/areas-of-special-protection. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- Neale, John: 'Discovering the River Tamar' (Amberley Publishing, 2013) ISBN 978-1-445-62495-2
