Ardleigh Reservoir is a 120 acres (485,623.2 m²) lake near Colchester

Colchester

Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...

 in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

 constructed in the valley of the Salary Brook. It supplies water both to Anglian Water

Anglian Water

Anglian Water is a privatised water company that operates in the East of England. Named for East Anglia, apart from Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire it also covers Lincolnshire, Essex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, a small part of north Nottinghamshire and Greater London...

 and to Tendring Hundred Water. The lake is also used for recreational activities including Sailing

Sailing

Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...

 and angling

Angling

Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...

. Both game and coarse fish are present including Pike

Esox

Esox is a genus of freshwater fish, the only living genus in the family Esocidae — the esocids which were endemic to North America, Europe and Eurasia during the Paleogene through present.The type species is E. lucius, the northern pike...

 and Zander

Zander

Zander is a species of fish. The scientific name is Sander lucioperca , and it is closely allied to perch. Zander are often called pike-perch as they resemble the pike with their elongated body and head, and the perch with their spiny dorsal fin. Zander are not, as is commonly believed, a pike and...

.

Ardleigh Reservoir is also home to the University of Essex Rowing Club.