Lancashire, England

Jumbles Reservoir slipway (Jumbles Sailing Club)

Launch — A concrete slipway maintained by Jumbles Sailing Club; volunteers extended the ramp and boathouse in 2019, and a jetty stands alongside it, replacing one that had served the club for over a decade.

Parking — The two United Utilities car parks serving Jumbles Country Park, Waterfold (BL2 4JS, open 10:30am-4:30pm) and Entwistle Reservoir (BL7 0LU), sit on the opposite side of the reservoir from the sailing club and do not directly serve this launch. No dedicated parking arrangement for the club's own slipway on Horrobin Lane is published.

Access — The club is reached via Horrobin Lane, Bolton BL7 0HJ, on the reservoir's north-western shore. Jumbles Country Park is within walking distance of Bromley Cross train station and has a circular path around the water that United Utilities describes as relatively easy and flat with a few short climbs, suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs. The club is open to visitors most Sundays without prior membership.

Season — Jumbles Sailing Club is open with galley and safety-boat cover on the water every Sunday from March to December, plus some Saturday training sessions and a midweek evening in summer; a winter series runs on Sundays into the end of February. Access to parts of the water can be restricted at low water levels in summer.

Regulations — Paddleboarding and kayaking on Jumbles Reservoir are permitted only under Jumbles Sailing Club's licence from United Utilities, which states that paddling that isn't part of a club licence is not permitted at any of its reservoirs. Local Membership, which is required to launch, is open to the public and does not require membership of any other organisation.

Jumbles Reservoir fills the Bradshaw Valley within Jumbles Country Park, between Bromley Cross and Chapeltown, holding up to 450 million gallons of water at a maximum depth of around 75 feet. It is fed by the Wayoh and Turton and Entwistle reservoirs upstream and drains south into Bradshaw Brook. United Utilities manages the reservoir and country park, and Jumbles Sailing Club launches dinghies, canoes and paddleboards from the northwestern shore.

The reservoir was built as a compensation reservoir for the then Bolton Corporation Waterworks, engineered to discharge water into Bradshaw Brook and keep the river system below it flowing rather than to supply drinking water itself. Construction began in 1967 and the reservoir was complete by August 1970, taking five months to fill; its dam and overflow chamber stand at the southern end, among the features United Utilities highlights on site.

At the reservoir's northern end lies a flooded former quarry, now grown over enough to be barely visible from the water. Along its bed and shore lie the submerged remains of Horrobin Mill, a bleachworks cleared in the 1960s; the ruins re-emerged during droughts in 1976 and 1991, and a stone loading ramp from the mill still stands beside the path on the eastern shore.

United Utilities records woodpeckers and kingfishers on the reservoir, and a site history also notes heron, cormorant and winter wildfowl including goldeneye, pochard and tufted duck. The Upper Bradshaw Valley Local Nature Reserve, owned by Bolton Council, begins immediately below the dam.

Nearby

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Jumbles Country Park Cafe

United Utilities' cafe and information centre beside Waterfold car park, on the opposite side of the reservoir from the sailing club.

Conditions to check

Boat traffic

Jumbles Sailing Club races and cruises dinghies on the water, and Darwen Loyal Angling Club holds fishing rights on the reservoir.

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Shallow or rocky

The reservoir is shallow and heavily modified.

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Limited exit

Access to parts of the water can be restricted at low water levels in summer.

Other

United Utilities does not close the reservoir during blue-green algae blooms but puts up warning signs when they occur.

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