Eccup Reservoir, Alwoodley Leeds

Eccup Reservoir is on the very northern edge of Leeds, just south of the privately owned Harewood House estate. It is a Yorkshire Water managed area and we used their website to search for a pram friendly route. It is possible to walk the whole way around the reservoir, except to do this our little one would have needed to be in a carrier or a confident walker. As we decided to use the pushchair we were limited as to how far we could walk. 

There is no designated car park but we easily found a place to park on a side road just off Alwoodley Lane. The footpath is well signposted, just after Sandmoor Golf Course. The first part is a tarmac drive which leads to a beautiful house. At the house, if using a pushchair, you need to bear to the right. The path is muddy, but not impassable. We met other families with pushchairs and small children and a family group with one wheelchair user. The walk we did skirted the golf course and the reservoir. Red Kites circled overhead while the ducks got to grips with the iced over water. We followed the path over the dam and then turned back. The nicest views are from this section, stretching out over the water and through the valley on the other side. Other areas that we walked are a bit enclosed.

Another time we would leave the pushchair and do a full circuit of the water. In total our walk was 4.6 miles long and took us 1.5 hours. We joined our walk up with lunch in Chapel Allerton; a perfect Sunday really!

Link to Yorkshire Water website
Link to map of site with footpaths shown