Roadford Lake, also known as Roadford Reservoir is a man-made reservoir fed by the River Wolf

River Wolf

The River Wolf is a minor river in the west of the county of Devon in England. Its name may come from a Celtic or earlier name recorded by the Roman map-maker Ptolemy as Ουολιβα as a town of the Dumnonii ; rather than referring to the wolf animal.The river runs from Broadbury through the valley...

. It is located to the north-east of Broadwoodwidger

Broadwoodwidger

Broadwoodwidger is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 548. The village is just off the A30 road, and is about eight miles east of Launceston in Cornwall, and 13 miles west of Okehampton...

 in West Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, eight miles (13 km) east of Launceston. It is the largest area of fresh water in the southwest of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Operated by South West Water

South West Water

South West Water provides drinking water and waste water services throughout Cornwall and Devon and in small areas of Dorset and Somerset. South West Water came into being in 1989 with the privatisation of the water industry...

, it directly supplies water for North Devon. It also supplies Plymouth and South West Devon via releases into the River Tamar

River Tamar

The Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . It is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.The...

 for abstraction

Water abstraction

Water abstraction, water extraction, or groundwater abstraction is the process of taking water from any source, either temporarily or permanently. Most water is used for irrigation or treatment to produce drinking water....

 at Gunnislake

Gunnislake

Gunnislake is a large village in east Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately ten miles north of Plymouth...

.

The creation of the reservoir in 1989 permitted exensive archaeological research to be undertaken in the valley of the River Wolf led by Professor Mick Aston

Mick Aston

Professor Michael Antony 'Mick' Aston is a prominent English archaeologist. As an academic, he has taught at a number of universities across the United Kingdom, and has helped popularise the discipline amongst the British public by appearing as the resident academic on the Channel 4 television...

 of Bristol University and documented by the Channel Four documentary series 'Time Signs'.

SW Water have received planning permission to build a holiday village beside the lake.

Facilities

• Brown Trout fishing
• Lakeside Cafe
• Boating:
  • Sailing
  • Rowing
  • Kayaking
• Footpath walks through mature forests/woodland
• Cycleway through mature forests/woodland
• Adjacent campsite