Tring Reservoirs

What to spot at Tring Reservoirs

Wildlife: Rare osprey, bittern and little egret. The reservoirs are nationally important for the high numbers of shoveler during the winter.
Opening times: Open all year.
Access/Conditions: Towpath walking with wheelchair access from Startop’s End car park.
Facilities: There are three bird hides with disabled access. Close by, four small villages provide access to shops, public houses, cafes and facilities. Interpretation and marked trails provide circular walks and heritage information.
How to get there: Follow the B489 towards Marsworth, from the A41. Nearest railway station is at Tring –the reservoirs can be reached by walking along the canal towpath (2 ½ m).
Parking: Car parking is provided at Wilstone Reservoir and Startop’s End Reservoir.

Tring Reservoirs is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest that attract birds on their spring and autumn migratory paths to warmer climes. The open water, marsh, reedbeds, woodland and grassland habitats support a wide variety of plants and flowers including southern and early marsh-orchids, fen bedshaw and bog pimpernel.

In spring, house martins, swifts, swallows and sand martins swoop over the water to catch insects. In summer, young herons join their parents on fishing trips to the reservoir edge and orange tip butterflies flutter over the hedgerows. Listen for the boom of the bittern during winter and early spring and see the elaborate courtship performed by great crested grebes.

The reservoirs were constructed when boat traffic was at its peak in the early 1800s. Narrowboats travelling between London and the Midlands were laden with coal bricks and food stuffs amongst other things. A reliable supply of water was needed to support the locks of the Grand Union Canal where it passes over the Chiltern Hills and four reservoirs were built to provide ample water storage.