Whitwell Lodge put-in

Whitwell Creek is a sheltered inlet on the north shore of Rutland Water, the largest reservoir by surface area in the United Kingdom. The reservoir fills the flooded valley of the River Gwash and a side valley towards Oakham, and is divided into two main arms by the Hambleton peninsula. Paddle craft launched from the creek are confined to it by Anglian Water's rules and do not reach the open water beyond.

As a working pumped-storage reservoir, Rutland Water is drawn down through the summer months and refilled in autumn and winter as river levels rise, so its margins and the extent of exposed shoreline change through the year. During periods of prolonged low water, including the 2026 drought, this drawdown has re-exposed stone remains of Nether Hambleton, a village flooded when the reservoir was built, normally submerged beneath the surface.

Rutland Water is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Special Protection Area and a Ramsar wetland of international importance, designated chiefly for its wintering waterbirds, including internationally important numbers of gadwall and northern shoveler. It is also home to the Rutland Osprey Project, which reintroduced breeding ospreys to England from 1996; the birds nest at Manton Bay, on the reservoir's south-west arm, and can be seen fishing over the water between spring and early autumn.