a partnership between

Anglian Water and Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust

This internationally famous nature reserve is managed in partnership with Anglian Water and the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust and provides one of the most important wildfowl sanctuaries in Great Britain, regularly holding in excess of 20,000 waterfowl. It is a site of special scientific interest, is designated as a European Special Protection Area and internationally recognised as a globally important wetland RAMSAR site.

The Reserve occupies a narrow strip of land running for 9 miles around the Western end of Rutland Water and covering a total of 600 acres. This was created in the 1970's with the construction of the reservoir. There are currently 27 Bird hides and nature trails from two visitor centres with experts to help you with identification.

The Reserve offers an exciting environmental display, viewing gallery and excellent schools service plus In Focus optical shop and Wildlife Trust shop in the Anglian Water Bird Watching Centre at Egleton.

Owing to an increasing demand for water, Anglian Water has undertaken a major engineering scheme due to be completed by the end of 2010. As part of this project new shallow water lagoons are being constructed in the reservoir. These will ensure that water levels remain constant in the lagoons as additional water is abstracted from the reservoir, making sure that there is no impact on wildlife.

The Reserve is also home to the successful Osprey project where the first Osprey chick to fledge in Central England for 150 years was hatched in 2001. Ospreys are regularly seen fishing over the reservoir from April - September. Click here for more information.