Eyebrook Reservoir Spillway
Situated on the border of Rutland and Leicestershire is Eyebrook Reservoir. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which spans roughly 201 hectares. The reservoir is an important site for various species of birds, certain wildflowers and plants.
The reservoir is a popular fishing location, it's regularly stocked with Rainbow Trout and is home to native Brown Trout and Pike.
The reservoir was formed when the Eye Brook was dammed. The dam was constructed around 1937 by Stewarts & Lloyds to supply Corby Steelworks with a healthy amount of water.
During the Second World War, Eyebrook reservoir was as target practice by 617 Squadron in preparation for the Dambusters raid. Eyebrook was selected because it bared resemblance to Mohne Reservoir. Although it’s Dam itself was more like the one at the Sorpe, scaffolding towers were erected to give it the appearance of the Möhne Dam. This practice obviously proved successful because Mohne Dam was destroyed on the evening of 16th May 1943.
There were a few other reservoirs that were used as practice. A well-known one is Derwent Reservoir in Derbyshire. It was used for intensive low-level night time flying exercises for about six weeks prior to the raid, and used because the Derwent Dam resembled the Mohne Dam with its twin towers.
The third training reservoir was Abberton Reservoir just south of Colchester. It was selected because it supposedly looked like the Eder Reservoir from the air. It was used for final tuning of low flying techniques, and was in fact used during the night of 14 May for a ‘full’ dress rehearsal for the raid.
The overflow is what we are interested in here. It’s a large concrete structure carved through the land to the south of the dam. There is a short section of pipe which goes from the base of the inlet to the spillway. In the inlet, there is a tiny pipe with a metal gate valve on the other end which today, luckily, was shut. The rest of the spillway then runs down to connect to the Eye Brook, so it can continue flowing through Caldecott and is a tributary of the River Welland.
It looks far more impressive on the photographs I’ve seen online. It was a slightly disappointing to be honest. Both me and @dansgas1000 were expecting more. We looked at each other and said “is that it? Is there more? “
Despite this, we both did still enjoy it and will probably end up trying to find more at reservoirs around the UK.
Starting at the bottom of the inlet.
Looking directly up
Moving inside the pipe
Right at the other end of the spillway now. Some pipe was gushing water out. Not sure where it was coming from.
Lovely old pipe work
Now on top of the dam wall, a few swans floating about. Trout were jumping out of the water too.
Situated on the border of Rutland and Leicestershire is Eyebrook Reservoir. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which spans roughly 201 hectares. The reservoir is an important site for various species of birds, certain wildflowers and plants.
The reservoir is a popular fishing location, it's regularly stocked with Rainbow Trout and is home to native Brown Trout and Pike.
The reservoir was formed when the Eye Brook was dammed. The dam was constructed around 1937 by Stewarts & Lloyds to supply Corby Steelworks with a healthy amount of water.
During the Second World War, Eyebrook reservoir was as target practice by 617 Squadron in preparation for the Dambusters raid. Eyebrook was selected because it bared resemblance to Mohne Reservoir. Although it’s Dam itself was more like the one at the Sorpe, scaffolding towers were erected to give it the appearance of the Möhne Dam. This practice obviously proved successful because Mohne Dam was destroyed on the evening of 16th May 1943.
There were a few other reservoirs that were used as practice. A well-known one is Derwent Reservoir in Derbyshire. It was used for intensive low-level night time flying exercises for about six weeks prior to the raid, and used because the Derwent Dam resembled the Mohne Dam with its twin towers.
The third training reservoir was Abberton Reservoir just south of Colchester. It was selected because it supposedly looked like the Eder Reservoir from the air. It was used for final tuning of low flying techniques, and was in fact used during the night of 14 May for a ‘full’ dress rehearsal for the raid.
The overflow is what we are interested in here. It’s a large concrete structure carved through the land to the south of the dam. There is a short section of pipe which goes from the base of the inlet to the spillway. In the inlet, there is a tiny pipe with a metal gate valve on the other end which today, luckily, was shut. The rest of the spillway then runs down to connect to the Eye Brook, so it can continue flowing through Caldecott and is a tributary of the River Welland.
It looks far more impressive on the photographs I’ve seen online. It was a slightly disappointing to be honest. Both me and @dansgas1000 were expecting more. We looked at each other and said “is that it? Is there more? “
Despite this, we both did still enjoy it and will probably end up trying to find more at reservoirs around the UK.
Starting at the bottom of the inlet.
Looking directly up
Moving inside the pipe
Right at the other end of the spillway now. Some pipe was gushing water out. Not sure where it was coming from.
Lovely old pipe work
Now on top of the dam wall, a few swans floating about. Trout were jumping out of the water too.
