Gladhouse Reservoir

Gladhouse Reservoir
©2022 Gazetteer for Scotland

Gladhouse Reservoir

The most southerly of the Midlothian reservoirs, Gladhouse lies 5 miles (8 km) south of Penicuik, in the shadow of the Moorfoot Hills, to the south of Edinburgh. Opened in 1879, it was the work of James Leslie (1801-89) and is the oldest of a network of reservoirs built on or close to the River South Esk to supplying that city with more water, the smaller reservoirs in the Pentland Hills having become inadequate. With an area of 186 ha (460 acres), Gladhouse is the largest body of freshwater in the Lothians. Stocked with brown trout, the reservoir is popular with anglers. It is also designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is internationally significant as a winter roost for thousands of pink-footed geese. Today, Gladhouse Reservoir is operated by Scottish Water, still for the supply of drinking-water.


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