Silvas Capitalis

Kielder Reservoir has an abundance of fantastic things to do, so we recently spent a few days there to see some of the highlights. We've previously spent some time on the south shore, but thought it was time to explore the north shore and visit some of the more tricky to get to sculptures. First on our list was Silvas Capitalis, a bit of an icon of Kielder; a giant, somewhat eerie wooden head situated 5km from Kielder Castle along the Lakeside Way walk. The walk is pretty flat and not too tricky, but it's worth mentioning that there are no facilities at all along the north shore - no loos or cafe stops after Kielder until Hawkhope car park at the other end of the reservoir. That's the health and safety bit done.

The walk along the north shore is beautiful and while you're treated to stunning views over Bakethin Reservoir, it means it doesn't feel like a 10km walk. There are plenty of birds to spot too including Goldcrest, Siskin, Spotted Flycatcher and if you're lucky you might spot the Osprey out hunting in the spring months. The artwork is signposted as you approach it and you can catch a glimpse of it as you head into the woodland. When we got up close I thought it was pretty eerie, and it's hard to gauge how big the head is in pictures, but it's huge. At one point you could step inside the mouth and head up some steps to look out from the eyes, but unfortunately storm Arwen in 2021 did some serious damage to the sculpture and the mouth is now blocked off. You can see where some trees fell on the back of the head and there is a big gaping hole in the woodwork.