What a difference a year makes at Chasewater
Spring has barely sprung but at least the water levels at Chasewater Reservoir in Staffordshire are back to normal.
In the past few months the popular reservoir near Brownhills has been slowly filling up after it was drained in 2010.
This time last year the region was baking in balmy temperatures of 23C (73F) – in stark contrast to the weather at the moment. Temperatures have still not reached double figures, with the chilly conditions set to continue well into this month.
However Chasewater ranger Andrew Chatwin has been cheered by water levels returning to normal despite the cold snap.
"It has been back to normal for a while now. The water has been a good level since before Christmas," he said. "The rain last summer really helped and now with the snow thawing that has helped top it up.
"It has been rather quiet with visitor numbers but I think that is because the weather has been putting them off.
"But it does look great now and we hope to get more people coming along."
Mr Chatwin said they had a number of activities for children to take part in over the holidays, and the boats were also back sailing. Cooler conditions will continue until towards the end of next week.
At that point temperatures are expected to rise closer to the seasonal average, with sunny spells.
It comes after it emerged a sailing club will be holding its first open day in three years at Chasewater.
Chase Sailing Club will be holding its open event on May 6.
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