To Thirlmere

 

One of the last ports of call on our whistle-stop tour of the Northern Lake District was Thirlmere.

Have just read that as a reservoir, Thirlmere still provides the Manchester area with drinking/bathing water:

Have also just discovered that the present reservoir occupies the site of a former natural lake. 

A quick Internet search reveals that in the 19th century, Manchester Corporation built a dam at the northern end of the natural lake. This raised the water level and flooded the valley bottom, thus, creating the present reservoir to provide an expanding, industrial Manchester with water through the 96-mile Thirlmere Aqueduct.

All the above sounds like a remarkable engineering achievement, but I can't help but imagine how much more beautiful the original lake must've looked than the present day, rugged-looking reservoir:

Still, the present-day Thirlmere was reasonably picturesque (with a few people walking round it),

But still, the private water company that owns the reservoir and surrounding area, had to put its own imprint on the natural landscape: