Walks, Alpacas and Sailing at Draycote Waters (Draycote Waters (Rubgy))

Member Name: taker4376

Product:	Draycote Waters (Rubgy)
Date:	26/01/09 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Scenic surroundings, educational and FREE

Disadvantages: Better on a sunny day

I was recently visiting my brother and his gf in Warwickshire. While waiting around for his girlfriend my brother suggested going to see some Alpacas. It sounded appealing but I wanted to do some shopping and so we went to Warwick instead. But a couple of days later, after not venturing out of their house the previous day I fancied a walk so I suggested going to see them. We thought about taking a picnic but were too lazy so just took some crisps and a drink lol.

Draycote Waters is in fact a man made reservoir near Rugby. It actually supplies the drinking water for the surrounding area. (We actually saw a Severn Trent van testing water) The name Draycote is the name of a village nearby. It is created in the 60's and contains 23 million metres-cubed of water. It really does look vast. But its not just a reservoir it is also a national park.

It has a birdwatching hut for twitchers sponsered by the West Midlands Bird Club. This overlooks the water and a feeding station to attract the birds. Where we parked there were several Canadian geese, ducks, coots and some others i'm not able to name.

There is also 20 acres of country park surrounding the waters. This is where we went for our walk and this is where the alpacas are :D There are at least 200 alpacas resident on the land but we went a very very windy day and most had retreated to an indoor shelter. We did however come across a few.

If you dont know anything about alpacas they are a little like Llamas. They are smaller, however and originate from South America. In South America their wool/coat is harnessed and used to create blankets etc. They look very cute and had a cute fluffy fringe. However I was rather disappointed that they wouldn't come near to the fence, even when coaxed with some long sweet grass. It was quite amusing to watch them scratch themselves but other than that they dont do a whole lot. We the ones we saw were a beigey colour or brown. I had phone naming them and taking pictures. As you enter the area they are kept there is an information plaque that tells you about them. I think this is a great place to take your kids as its free and educational. They also get to see these rather exotic animals in a more natural environment than a zoo, even if it isnt their natural habitat. You are also able to get very close to them, and who knows on a better day they might be convinced to come and take some grass from you.

When we came across a gate, that had no warning on it we decided to go through to see if we could get closer. We went in and peeked into a shelter where one large alpaca was chewing some hay. My brother said "hello", the alpaca turned and began to run at us... needless to say we got the hell out of there lol.

If going after bad weather you should seriously consider wearing wellies. It was very very muddy and my brother even fell over, much to our amusement, but not his. There are footpaths around the lake, but not where the alpacas are. There were quite a few cyclists around and so it must be a favourite spot for bike rides.

There is also a water sailing club that uses the resevoir. This is opened every day except Christmas and you can sail, windsurf or use dinghys. There are races on every Sunday and Wednesday evening. It also runs courses and has rescue services just in case.

There is a clubhouse on site, which also houses the information centre and gift shop. The gift shop sells various gifts, some with Draycote logos on. There is also a resturant. When we went there was also a burger van outside the clubhouse. But we didnt sample them as we had crisps lol.

The area is very beautiful considering it is man made. When we went the resevoir had waves and the area where there is normally a beach was flooded due to recent weather.

Summary: A great place for a walk