What's open at Rutland Water? Paths and some facilities reopening on Tuesday June 2 after closure to prevent spread of coronavirus
Rutland Water, which has been closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus, will reopen to visitors on Tuesday (June 2) although people are being asked not to rush there straight away.
In addition, the Rutland Water Nature Reserve area will remain closed, as will the Waterside and Harbour cafés, the beach and the children's playgrounds.
There will be no mini-golf or water sports hire, but Rutland Cycling will be operating a click and collect bike hire, but this must be arranged in advance through its website.
A spokesman for Anglian Water, which owns the reservoir, said: “Over the past few weeks we have been working tirelessly to put in procedures to ensure health and safety requirements for coronavirus can be met at all of our water parks.
“We’re pleased to say we’re now confident we can reopen Rutland Water on Tuesday (June 2) for visitors.
“However, in order to protect the local Rutland community we are asking people not to visit the site in large groups, and not to rush to visit either. There will be plenty of opportunity over the coming weeks. We are keen to avoid a large influx of people arriving at the same time.
Areas open to visitors:
- Paths for walking and cycling
- Toilets
Activities and areas that remain CLOSED at Rutland Water until further notice:
- The Nature Reserve and all bird hides including the Lyndon Osprey Centre
- The Rutland Belle
- Waterside Café
- Harbour Café
- The beach
- Children’s playgrounds and sandpits
- Mini golf
- Water sports hire (day launch only, no hires)
- The Aquapark
- Bugtopia the Zoo is closed
- Rutland Cycling – which is instead operating a click and collect through its website
“There will be limited parking on site to ensure that we can monitor the flow of people coming to visit and ensure social distancing is possible. There will be changes across our parks to make sure Government guidance can be maintained and to protect visitors and our colleagues.
“The waterside and harbour cafés will remain closed, along with the Rutland Belle. We also won’t be opening the beach this summer.
“It is clear that there is still a long road ahead in respect of living with Covid-19 and it’ll come as no surprise that, as with all walks of our current lives, things will look a little different for some time to come.
“We know this has been a long and frustrating period and we would like to thank everyone for their patience. What makes us love doing what we do, is seeing and experiencing the pleasure all our visitors get from their experience on our parks.
“We would like to thank those of you who have been supportive throughout this time, it means everything to our teams. We will continue to monitor the government’s advice and the situation as the summer progresses, and will keep everyone updated on any changes we need to make on our website www.anglianwaterparks.co.uk”
The news has been welcomed by groups and individuals who expressed frustration about not being able to use the site.
Tony Anders, a windsurfer from Stainfield, near Bourne, said he felt ‘a lot happier’ now that he would be able to visit to exercise.
He added: “My fear all along was that Anglian Water would play safe as long as possible. I do understand their thing about not opening before the bank holiday.”
Barbara Spalek from Morcott, who regularly cycled between Manton and Egleton as a ‘commuter route’ to Oakham said the news was ‘fantastic’ and ‘about time’.
“It’s great news for cyclists and for local people,” she added.
“I think people will be sensible, especially local commuters like me.”
Oliver Hemsley (Con), leader of Rutland County Council, said: “Rutland County Council fully supports Anglian Water’s decision to re-open its facilities at Rutland Water to the public. A significant amount of detailed planning has taken place to ensure the re-opening is as safe as possible for, staff, volunteers, residents and tourists.
“We recognise that, after so many weeks spent in lockdown, people will be keen to visit the reservoir. But, we would urge everyone to exercise restraint, and consider the potential implications an influx of visitors could have.
“All of Rutland’s tourist attractions, restaurants, coffee shops and bars are now gearing up reopen in the summer, depending on government guidance, so there will be plenty of time to visit then, but now we must all play our part in ensuring our vulnerable residents and the wider public are protected from the virus.”
John Clarkson, head of conservation at Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, which looks after the nature reserve occupying part of the western shore of Rutland Water, said the reserve won't be opening immediately, in line with government guidelines.
Specifically, this is because the reserve's toilet facilities will need to remain closed to visitors, as will the shop until June 15 because it sells non-essential items, and the café.
"We could easily try to get around the rules but people may not feel secure because the toilets and similar facilities need to stay closed, and the hides are less than 2m wide, so there is the possibility of coming into too close contact with another person," said John.
He added that Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust is monitoring what the government says, and will open the nature reserve area again as soon as possible, ensuring people feel safe. "It won't be long," he said.
