Thirlmere

Thirlmere is a reservoir in the central Lake District in Cumbria, situated in a valley between the fells of Helvellyn to the east and Armboth Fell to the west. It was created between 1890 and 1894 by raising the water level of two natural lakes to supply fresh water by gravity-fed aqueduct to the city of Manchester, some 96 miles to the south. The reservoir is flanked by large plantations of conifers managed by Forestry England, and its dark, forested shores give it a somewhat different character to the more open natural lakes of the Lake District. The valley contains the small settlement of Wythburn at its southern end, where only a small chapel remains from the community displaced when the valley was flooded.