These are the pictures showing Edgbaston Reservoir is drying out in the long summer heatwave.
It was built in 1827 by Thomas Telford and is still used to top up the city’s canal system almost 200 years later.
But so vast is the waterscape it’s also the one place in Birmingham that feels like you really are at the beach.
The 70-acre oasis off the aptly named Reservoir Road is a vast expanse of water surrounded on two thirds of its circumference by trees.
And, just like the seaside, the water is going further out on a daily basis.
But that’s not because it has suddenly become tidal in deepest Edgbaston, in thrall with the moon.
No, the lack of rainfall for the past month has seen the amount of water in the ‘res’ start to go down.
It’s still arriving, by the way.
There is a steady trickle of water through a big pipe under the drive that leads to the main way in and out off Reservoir Road, close to the Tower Ballroom.
But it’s clearly not enough to keep the levels topped up.
There is, of course, nothing new about this phenomenon.
Levels were lower than this in April 2008, for example.
Throughout the reservoir’s history there will have been many a period of little or no rainfall.
And that's regardless of your view about the impact of ‘global warming’.
And so the trees growing out of where the water often rises to are things of weird beauty.
Designed to be flooded, yet still in green leaf despite barely having any water at all.
Mother Nature is quite wonderful when she can make inner city Birmingham resemble a tropical paradise...
Dangers lurking in the deep
Except that wandering down on to the ‘beach’ – after first climbing over the fence close to some steps which are falling apart – is not quite the pleasant experience it ought to be.
There is no golden sand to play on.
And there’s lots of green algae growing in the shallow edge of the water.
This in itself will hopefully stop anyone from thinking they can go swimming.
Like all open water, Edgbaston Reservoir can be a treacherous place and unforgivingly cold when the wind picks up in winter.
A 13-year-old boy called Sami Hussain died at Birmingham Children's Hospital on August 16, 2017 after getting into difficulties at 3.30pm that Wednesday afternoon.
Speaking after the tragedy had unfolded, Station Commander Simon Woodward, of West Midlands Fire Service said: “We commend the actions of those who tried to save him.
"But we would urge people to call 999 as soon as possible in such circumstances, to avoid putting themselves in danger.
“Drowning is one of the most common causes of death for people under 16 in the summer months.
Public Parks in Birmingham
"Many misjudge how well they can swim, often unaware of how cold the water can be and what this does to their stamina and strength.”
In December, 2017, a jury at Birmingham Coroner’s Court gave a verdict of accidental death and after careful consideration decided that safety signs at the Reservoir beach were adequate.
Said to have falllen in backwards from a beach area near to the Gillott Road entrance, Sami was one of five children and a pupil at Lordswood Boys School.
His father Zahid Hussain, who attended the inquest, said: “Our message to people is follow the safety signs, follow the rules and make sure children are supervised around open water.”
He said he did not want to see the beach area fenced off.
“Sami loved that place, he enjoyed going there with his friends. He would not want any restrictions.”
Life on ‘the beach’
Before the water’s edge, the surface beneath your feet is simply a weird mixture of dried earth and green moss that has almost breathed its last.
Almost woven together, it feels like cardboard that has been through a repeated wet-and-dry process before being baked alive under a hot sun.
But it’s what you find on the surface that makes you cringe.
There’s everything here from plastic bags to food wrappers.
From tin cans to emptied bottles of booze.
The remains of a Samsung mobile phone had been washed up and left for dead.
Either that or it had been nicked and tossed overboard from the walkway above, discarded of anything valuable first.
A reminder of the drugs’ generation came in the shape of silver bullet-style nitrous oxide canisters.
There were even several sealed packets of white crystals.
Should I have picked them up?
If I’d had my own plastic bag, I might have done just that.
But I didn’t even want to touch them and the heat from the blazing sun was so intense that by the time I’d got back to my car I’d forgotten all about them.
Shame on me. But a bigger shame on whoever had left them there in the first place.
Amenities
Edgbaston has been turned into Local Nature Reserve and declared to be a Site of Nature Conservation Interest.
There is a 1.75 mile path all the way round the reservoir, idea for joggers.
As well as newts and bats, there is plenty of birdlife in the area and you may spot a kingfisher or two on your way round.
The car park opens at 8am and is locked at dusk.
The Midland Sailing Club on Icknield Port Rd, Birmingham B16 0AA – and The Birmingham Rowing Club (est 1873) at 115 Reservoir Road, Ladywood, Birmingham, B16 9EE both make good use of the opportunity to get out on to the open water, far from the madding crowd.
