Tittesworth Water: muddy paths, willow tits and a working plug hole

Living in Cheshire, I’m blessed to have lots of countryside, pretty views and all sorts close by. However, one of my family’s top activities is to nip across the border with Staffordshire to visit Tittesworth Water.

After I visited again in January, I wanted to share my day out with you all. I hope it gives anyone who’s based in or visiting the area a flavour of what Tittesworth is like.

As well as my favourite features of the reservoir and what to expect when you’re walking around it, I’ll include practical information on how to visit.

Where is Tittesworth Water?

You’ll find Tittesworth Water in Staffordshire, England. It’s near the western side of the Peak District, one of the UK’s great national parks, and the transition from farmland to something wilder is obvious as you approach. Whilst it is only a couple of miles from Leek, the nearest town, it feels quite a bit further away.

It’s virtually impossible to get to Tittesworth Water via public transport, unless you fancy a couple of miles’ walk each way from Leek. The better way is to arrive by car, like we did.

The final couple of miles, as you ascend into the hills, are pretty spectacular regardless of what direction you’re going from. There are gorgeous views over the nearby countryside. If you approach from the west, there’s a viewpoint not far from the reservoir you can pull into for a closer look.

When we went, on a cloudy day, we literally drove into cloud and fog, making for an atmospheric experience. 

Arriving at Tittesworth Water

Tittesworth Water is owned and managed by Severn Trent Water, the water supplier operating across the West and East Midlands. The reservoir stores water from the River Churnet, with increased rainfall causing it to increase in volume during winter. The reservoir is then used to support the water supply for the surrounding area during summer.

Given that it’s a managed site, Tittesworth Reservoir has good visitor facilities. There’s a large car park on the north-east side of the reservoir, the charges for which are pretty steep: £3.50 for up to 2 hours, £5.50 for 2 to 4 hours or £7.50 for all day. (Penny counters will want to check out the lay-by at Meerbrook Road, as this is close to the west side of the reservoir and has no restrictions.)

Right beside the car park you’ll find a visitor centre, which holds a shop and restaurant. The visitor centre also contains free toilets: the first thing we headed to once we arrived!

Deciding which walk to do

Once we had finished at the toilets, the next decision was what route we were going to follow. This wasn’t a difficult choice, but it did split opinions in my family.

I was visiting the reservoir with my whole family (my mum, dad and sister) so we needed to keep our different levels of walking in mind. My mum struggles to walk super long distances as her knees hurt, so she was hoping for a fairly short walk. On the other hand, my sister, Lou, wanted to hike; she would’ve been quite happy going up a mountain!

At Tittesworth Water, there are around four official routes to follow, which are well-labelled and signposted. The shortest route (the “Churnet Trail”) is just 1 km long, flat and well paved. On this section we saw lots of families with pushchairs. It’s perfect for taking the kids out, especially if you stop at the playground on the way back.

Two additional loops are a bit longer, taking you one or two kilometres down the side of the reservoir and then back along alternative paths or through fields. I did the shorter of these two loops (the “Fosters Trail”) on my first visit and liked that you turn around and walk through the forest at the end. Meanwhile, as the slightly longer loop (the “Crabapple Trail”) takes you across a few fields, I’ve never attempted it; it just looks muddy.

The final official route is possibly the most popular. During this, you can walk the full way around the reservoir. It isn’t actually that big compared to the biggest reservoirs in Britain so the walk isn’t incredibly long, at around 5 miles, and takes 2 to 3 hours.

To be honest, from the start my dad, sister and I wanted to do the longest walk. For me, that was because it’s the only walk where you visit and cross the reservoir dam, which I think is the best bit. In particular, I wanted to see Tittesworth’s plug hole.

My mum agreed to keep the rest of us happy, and off we went!

Starting the walk

We began the walk around the reservoir in a clockwise direction.

For the first part of the walk, the path follows the shortest and most accessible trail, so it is fairly easy. There are lots of families and children around, but as there is a lot of space either side of the footpath it never felt too crowded. Of course, when we walked it in January, it never really got too busy.

For the first half hour or so of the walk, the sky was overcast, and we were hit by spots of rain. I was nervous we might have to turn around. Fortunately, the rain held off, but still it was so cold: I wished I’d brought another pair of gloves!

In the first section of the walk, we went through several different areas. There’s a few sections of woodland which you pass through and around. Sometimes the water is right next to you, and other times you can barely see it through the trees. It felt a little mystical.

After two or three kilometres, the path winds around a long fork in the reservoir as it joins to another stream. As we turned, we could see the dam up ahead, and I was excited as it looked like we were so close. But then the detour around this section of the reservoir came along and we continued to walk for another kilometre.

Finally, we went down a set of steps, the dam rising up ahead of us.

Reaching the dam

To the casual observer, Tittesworth Reservoir’s dam looks pretty old. That makes sense as the reservoir was first constructed way back in 1858. The wall is a grey stone, and there’s a long walkway connecting both sides of the reservoir together.

At the dam, you can see the water treatment plant for water exiting the reservoir on the other side. As a tall obstacle (like all dams), there are so many steps on the other side of the walkway. It’d be the perfect place to practise some aerobics!

However, for me, the most exciting thing about Tittsworth Reservoir is its plug hole. Technically called a bell-mouth spillway, but nicknamed plug hole by almost everyone, this is an overflow feature for reservoirs. Water flows through the plug hole when the reservoir is particularly full; when it does, it looks like a watery tornado in the water!

The most famous plug holes in the UK are arguably those at Ladybower Reservoir in the Peak Distict. Seeing them in operation has been on my list for years, but they had stopped overflowing by the time I visited in winter 2021.

The plug hole at Tittesworth is smaller and less impressive than those at Ladybower, but it’s exciting all the same. Sure enough, once we arrived at the dam, it was in operation, looking as magical as any artificial feature can.

From the dam, the reservoir looked so pretty, with the light falling over the water and the reflections of all the trees.

Second half of the walk

After crossing the dam, we reached the other side, where we could continue our walk. We were now around halfway through. My mum‘s knees were hurting a bit but she kept going.

I really enjoyed this stretch of the walk. The first kilometre or so after the dam is in woodlands, and there are some pretty views. Then the woods open up, into fields. Around here we saw plenty of signs about ground nesting birds and not disturbing them. I assume that some people have seen some very cool wildlife here – not that we saw anything!

Here we had the chance to crack into two biscuit provisions: naturally, the most important thing to bring on any walk. After that, we continued along the trail, past Tittesworth Watersport Centre, which, as you’d expect in January, was very quiet and empty. Afterwards, we reached the road, which has a bridge connecting the two sides of the reservoir together.

Bird watching

My other favourite thing about Tittesworth Water is located on the other side of the road, at the end of the loop around the reservoir. Here, you’ll find two bird hides.

I really love these bird hides. They’re positioned slightly on their own in a woodland section, and have views facing the water. There are bird feeders next to them, and the couple of times I’ve visited there has been food out for the birds.

The bird hides don’t seem to be that popular with visitors – I’ve never seen another person in them. But that’s what makes them even more fun for me!

On this trip, we visited the one on the western side of the reservoir first. The bird feeders next to this bird hide were pretty busy. We saw many of the common British garden birds, like great tits, blue tits, sparrows and robins, as well as others I don’t know the names for.

I got quite excited because there was a willow tit coming to feed as well. It wasn’t a bird I’d seen before, and I wouldn’t have known what it was were it not for a sign in the bird hide. It was shy compared to the other birds, with muted colours, but I was glad to have seen it!

Afterwards, we headed across to the bird hide on the eastern side of the water. This area was super quiet – we got the impression we had scared off whatever had been there with our passing. Still, we were happy with what we’d seen.

Returning to the car

After the bird hides, we returned to the car park.

We’d seen a lot and done a lot today. As it was so cold, I think we were all relieved to finally return to the car and get its heating on.

In the car park we had one final bizarre moment. Lots and lots of rabbits were on the side of the lake, and looking closer I saw they were eating chopped carrots. I have never seen rabbits in winter – in fact, until then I thought they hibernated – so that was a treat.

Ratings

Everywhere I go, I can’t resist rating it against my usual criteria. That way there’s a handy score which tells you exactly what it’s like, for comparison against the other destinations on this blog.

Here’s how Tittesworth Water scored:

• Accessibility: 4/5 – you can’t get to Tittesworth easily by public transport, so having a car is necessary. However, once you’re there, it’s set up well for disabled visitors or those with pushchairs, with an accessible walk and good facilities.
• Safety: 5/5 – the reservoir feels super safe.
• Enjoyment: 5/5 – Tittesworth Water is one of my favourite stops close to home, and I find a walk here is so satisfying.
• Value: 4/5 – the car park is pricey, but once you’ve got past that, it makes for an affordable day out.

Overall score: 4.5/5

If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings!

Conclusion

I really enjoyed my walk at Tittesworth Reservoir, spending time with my family in the great outdoors. With there being a range of trails, a play area and visitor centre, it has appeal for different groups and makes for a great family day out.

What’s your favourite place to go walking? Is there a lake that you particularly enjoy visiting? Let me know in the comments.