On a hot air balloon flight from one of our Lincolnshire balloon take off sites you may be lucky enough to drift towards the County of Rutland and see Rutland Water, one of the largest man made lakes in Western Europe in what is England's smallest county! This reservoir for drinking water covers over 3000 acres so you do need to make sure you have enough wind to clear it when you fly over by hot air balloon. The reservoir is fed from the River Welland and the Nene and was completed in 1975. Areas of the lake and surrounding countryside provide a nature reserve and Rutland Water also provides facilities for sailing, fishing, walking and cycling around it's 25 mile perimeter.