Abberton Reservoir

Essex is one of the driest counties in the UK, The first major project to address local water needs was the establishment of the South Essex Waterworks Company in 1861, which extracted water from the underlying chalk aquifer through wells and boreholes. This supplied an area north east of London from East Ham to Grays and Brentwood. Despite the tapping of new wells, by the outbreak of World War I, the demand was outstripping supply, and eventually the need to find new sources led to the creation of a new reservoir. The reservoir was constructed between 1935 and 1939 on a site that was formerly farmland with a couple of small woods, by damming the Layer Brook, although most of its water is…

The Essex Wildlife Trust has a car park and nature reserve, the Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park, at the north end of the Layer de la Haye causeway. There is a visitor centre with a shop, café, toilets and play area, and three bird hides, two looking south and east over the Main section, and one in woodland. The visitor centre and reserve are open every day from 10 am–5 pm . The western and central sections can be viewed from the Layer Breton and Layer de la Haye causeways, the latter also giving views of the main section. There is no public access to the western section, but a car park at the southern end of the Layer de la Haye causeway gives access to a viewing screen and scrapes…