STOCKS RESERVOIR: MEMORIES, WATER & WILDLIFE Historian Andrew Stachulski puts the spotlight on Stocks Reservoir, an impressive feat of civil engineering that, over the years, has become a natural wildlife haven
S
tocks Reservoir, easily the Forest of Bowland’s largest sheet of water, lies at its nearest point just one and a half miles north north east of Slaidburn and stretches into Gisburn Forest in the east of Bowland. Yet Stocks shares the same elusive quality as Slaidburn itself, generally lying out of sight until the last moment and difficult to spot. Motorists have a good glimpse from the B6478 near the Clapham road junction, where the wide basin of the catchment area is evident. For the walker, one of the best viewing stations is found at a wall junction on the path climbing to Bowland Knotts, offering a fine bird’s-eye aspect.
The reservoir was completed in 1932 and is Bowland’s largest element of infrastructure. It is an impressive piece of civil engineering, one of many such developments in the inter-war years. Today, over 80 years on,
