Over Water is a small lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

 or tarn

Tarn (lake)

A tarn is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. A moraine may form a natural dam below a tarn. A corrie may be called a cirque.The word is derived from the Old Norse word tjörn meaning pond...

 in the north of the English Lake District

Lake District

The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...

 near the village of Longlands. Although only a fifteen-minute drive from Keswick

Keswick, Cumbria

Keswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...

 it is quieter than many of the better-known lakes. Binsey

Binsey

Binsey is a hill on the northern edge of the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is detached from the rest of the Lakeland hills, and thus provides a good spot to look out at the Northern and North Western Fells of the Lake District, as well as the coastal plain and, across the Solway Firth,...

, Great Cockup

Great Cockup

Great Cockup is a fell in the northern region of the English Lake District, one of the four Uldale Fells .- Description :...

 and Longlands Fell

Longlands Fell

Longlands Fell is a small fell in the northern part of the English Lake District. It is situated in the high ground known as the Uldale Fells, 5.5 kilometres south west of the village of Caldbeck...

 overlook the lake.

Over Water was a small natural waterbody which was dammed in 1904 to increase its capacity. It now serves as a drinking water reservoir to supply the town of Wigton

Wigton

Wigton is a small market town and civil parish outside the Lake District, in the administrative county of Cumbria in England, and traditionally in Cumberland. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast...

. The dam is at the northern end. Over Water supports a range of flora including water lillies and water lobelia.

The name of the tarn has developed and changed over time. It was recorded as 'Orre Water' in 1687, which derives from the Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

 name 'Orri's tarn' which means 'the tarn where blackcock are found.' http://web.ukonline.co.uk/sw.rae/

There are many public footpaths offering access, with a 7.5-mile circular route beginning and ending at Over Water and taking in Ruthwaite, High Ireby, High Houses, Binsey

Binsey

Binsey is a hill on the northern edge of the Lake District in Cumbria, England. It is detached from the rest of the Lakeland hills, and thus provides a good spot to look out at the Northern and North Western Fells of the Lake District, as well as the coastal plain and, across the Solway Firth,...

 and Binsey Lodge over a 950ft elevation being one of the more well-trodden routes http://www.leaney.org/lake_district_walks_by_area.php?area=northern. (There is no public access around the lake itself as it is a SSSI - Site of Special Scientific Interest: the lake itself is owned by The National Trust; the lake shore is privately owned by a number of different landowners).

It is notable for being a feeding place for the Osprey

Osprey

The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...

s which breed beside Bassenthwaite Lake

Bassenthwaite Lake

Bassenthwaite Lake is one of the largest water bodies in the English Lake District. It is long and narrow, approximately long and wide, but is also extremely shallow, with a maximum depth of about ....

. Ospreys are still extremely rare breeding birds in 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...

. There is an official Osprey viewpoint at Dodd Wood in the locality http://www.rspb.org.uk/brilliant/sites/lakeosprey/.