The Trust’s fast flowing streams, cold still lakes, slow meandering rivers and warmer meres and ponds can be found throughout the UK. Different types of standing or flowing waters can form many different habitats of value to many creatures.
Marginal plants can live in different speeds and clarity of water on the edge of rivers and streams, which in turn provide plenty of cover and food for insects, birds and animals.
Here are just some of the hot spots for freshwater wildlife:
Malham Tarn Estate, Yorkshire
© NTPL / Michael Caldwell
At the centre of the estate lies Malham Tarn - England's highest freshwater lake. This beautiful part of the Yorkshire Dales is an internationally important wetland site, with a large number of bird species, which can be seen from the hide, and is home to Daubenton bats. There is also the nearby National Nature Reserve.
Belton House, Lincolnshire
© NTPL / Rupert Truman
The river Witham runs through the Belton Estate, and with it brings a whole range of wildlife. The river is inhabited by crayfish, wild brown trout, water voles and even the occasional otter.
Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire
© NTPL / Joe Cornish
The vast and peaty wetlands at Wicken Fen is the Trust's oldest nature reserve and one of the top wildlife sites in the UK. The water is filled with aquatic invertebrates, which in turn attract larger creatures including many water fowl and migrating birds. Many flowering plants are also found in the area.
Buscot and Coleshill Estates, Oxfordshire
© NTPL / Martin Trelawny
The rivers Thames and Cole run through these estates in the Thames Valley. The rivers mean that the area is home to kingfishers and other creatures that dwell within the marshes and reed beds.
Other places that have freshwater wildlife include:
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