Mark's Midweek Magnet - Week 2

Hi,

Another fantastic plastic fridge magnet this week, from the smallest County in England. This was bought on a day trip, for which the weather was fine for a change.

Rutland Water is a man made lake owned by Anglian Water. There are various watersports on offer and also cycle hire available for a leisurely circuit of the lake. Rutland Water gets very busy in the Summer months and especially so at weekends. A lot of families take advantage of the flat pathway that surrounds the lake, or some just laze by the water watching the yachts or windsurfers.

http://www.anglianwater.co.uk/leisure/what-to-see/water-parks/rutland/index.aspx
We enjoyed the 'Rutland Belle' boat trip around the lake. There is a commentary giving a history of Rutland water and also some facts and figures too, as you make your way slowly around the lake.
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http://www.discover-rutland.co.uk/things-to-do/rutland-belle-p18111
Normanton Church
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Rutland Water is very proud of it's Nature Reserve designation and quite right too. Approximately 20,000 wildfowl can't be wrong, can they?
http://www.rutlandwater.org.uk/about-the-reserve/
http://www.rutlandwater.org.uk/about-the-reserve/the-reservoir/
The jewel in the crown so to speak, are the Ospreys that are the first to breed in England for 150 years, they have been a feature of Rutland for 18 years. The only other place to see breeding pairs are the wilds of Scotland. There is a satellite tagging system that shows the migration patterns of these wonderful birds. For winter some fly to the Mediterranean (lucky lucky birds) and some fly as far as South America. These birds are expected to start their return to Rutland in March.
http://www.ospreys.org.uk/category/satellite-tracking/
And one has been tracked to Senegal, this picture is from a 'Rutland Osprey in Senegal'.

Below is a link to the satellite tracking of the Senegal osprey on a map.
http://www.ospreys.org.uk/satellite/index.html
It is well worth the time and effort in reading the Rutland reserve website, it is really fascinating to see the hard work put in by the volunteers in keeping tabs on the ospreys.
http://www.ospreys.org.uk/a-rutland-osprey-in-senegal/
There are special Osprey themed boat tours with a guide available in
http://www.ospreys.org.uk/lyndon-reserve/cruises/
Considering how small the County of Rutland is we found there was plenty to do if you have the time.
http://www.discover-rutland.co.uk/discover-rutland
Sadly, we were only visiting on a day trip, so only concentrated on Rutland water itself. The discover Rutland tourist website has devised 7 discovery trails for cars.
http://www.discover-rutland.co.uk/things-to-do/rutland-discovery-trails
To the North of Rutland water is a rail museum dedicated to the iron ore industry. It is only operates trains once a month at the moment, but you can view the train-yards every day according to the museum's website.
Photo from the 'Rocks by Rail' website

http://www.rocks-by-rail.org/2013/11/26/2014-operating-days/

http://www.rocks-by-rail.org/
In conclusion a great place for a sunny day (isn't everywhere better in the sunshine though, lol)

Thanks for reading,

Mark & Yvette