Kielder Water
Kielder Water is a large man-made reservoir in Northumberland, northeast England. It is the United Kingdom’s largest artificial lake by water capacity, holding about 200 billion litres (44 billion imperial gallons). The reservoir sits in the big Kielder Forest and covers around 10.9 square kilometres. It is about 5.65 miles (9.09 km) long and up to 2 miles (3.2 km) wide, with a shoreline of roughly 44 kilometres. The deepest point is about 52 metres. It was built between 1975 and 1981 and officially opened in 1982. Kielder Water is owned by Northumbrian Water.
Why it was built
The project was planned to help meet rising water needs and to support a system that transfers water to downstream rivers. The scheme was expected to help maintain water supply during droughts. Building it required relocating farms and even a railway line; around 95 people left their homes.
Hydroelectric plant
Kielder Water is home to England’s largest hydroelectric plant. The plant opened in 1982 and, after upgrades in 2005–2006, can be controlled from Dolgarrog in Wales. It has two turbines producing a total of 6 megawatts (5.5 MW from a Kaplan turbine and 0.5 MW from a Francis turbine). On average, it generates about 20,000 megawatt-hours of electricity each year and saves roughly 8,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually compared with fossil fuel power.
Recreation and tourism
The reservoir is a popular tourist spot with two main visitor centres, Leaplish and Tower Knowe, plus facilities at nearby villages. It attracts more than 250,000 visitors a year who come for the views, leisure activities and the surrounding forest.
Name and history
The name Kielder has been used since at least 1309. It likely comes from old language roots related to water or a narrow stream.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:49 (CET).