“That was fabulous,” said Jan Rees, a member of the Watchtower Waders swimming club as she emerged glistening from Llanishen reservoir. “The water was clear, clean and wonderfully warm. It’s thrilling to be here.”
Rees, 67, grew up in this corner of Cardiff, just a few miles north of the city centre, and learned to sail on Llanishen but, like many, feared those days were gone for ever when plans were hatched to drain the reservoir and build houses.
However, after an extraordinary 23-year fight by the community to save Llanishen and its sister reservoir, Lisvane, people were back in and on the water on Thursday ahead of a full public opening on 28 July.
“It’s such a precious spot,” said Rees, a retired local authority worker. “The city centre’s just over there but you could be in the middle of the countryside.”
The Watchtower Waders usually swim off the seaside town of Barry but will be making trips here. “Some take it seriously, others just swim and chat,” said Rees. “It’s lovely to have somewhere else to swim.”
Lisvane reservoir was built in the 1860s to supply drinking water for Cardiff, and as the city grew Llanishen was constructed to bring pure water from Bannau Brycheiniog – the Brecon Beacons – to the city.
The reservoirs stopped supplying drinking water to the Welsh capital in the mid-70s, though Lisvane continued to be linked to the steelworks near Cardiff docks.
There was a fly fishing club on Lisvane and a sailing club on Llanishen, where the Olympic sailor Hannah Mills learned her world-beating skills.
The reservoirs were also rich in flora and fauna. The embankments of both are sites of special scientific interest due to the presence of a wide variety of grassland fungi, and Lisvane is an important wintering spot for diving ducks.
In 2000, the reservoirs were acquired by Western Power Distribution, which proposed to build more than 320 houses and flats. The sailing club closed, fishing stopped and in 2010 Llanishen was drained.
An action group called the Reservoir Action Group (RAG) was created in 2001, determined to protect the site, and at its height had more than 2,000 members.
In 2016, Dŵr Cymru (Welsh Water) stepped in, purchasing a 999-year lease for the site and began to bring the reservoirs back into use.
In addition to refilling Llanishen, it has restored the woodland that borders the reservoirs. As well as swimming, people will be able to sail, kayak, canoe and paddleboard. Dŵr Cymru, a not-for-profit company, has also built a two-storey visitor centre and restaurant with views across the reservoirs.
Jack Bailey, the activity manager for the site, said he had loved hearing chatter and laughter as people took to the water again. Llanishen is not the largest body of water but often benefits from a steady south-westerly breeze and the hope is to eventually set up a new sailing club at the site. “This place has a great heritage. It will be lovely to be able to teach people to sail here again.”
“This is a wonderful moment for us,” said Richard Cowie, the chair of RAG. “At times it seemed we were never going to win but we stuck by it. People really valued the reservoirs and were horrified at the prospect of losing them.”
Watching the bright yellow sails of the dinghies and the bobbing blue swimming hats of Watchtower Waders was a particularly poignant day for Diana Pearce, the daughter of the RAG founder Ted Thurgood, who died in 2019. “He loved this place and was so determined to protect it,” said Pearce. “I wish he could be here today.”
