Whittle Dene is 12 miles (19 km) west of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, straddling the B6318 Military Road, and is a complex of reservoirs and treatment works forming the last stage in the supply of drinking water to Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead.

These reservoirs, completed in 1848, at last gave Newcastle and Gateshead a steady, clean and regular supply of water.

At this point the major works of the new company were completed and later described as "the greatest step with reference to the hydraulic supply of a Town that has been taken in the Kingdom".

By the end of March, the first sand martins can usually be seen over the reservoirs and summer visitors continue to increase throughout April and May when large numbers of swallows and swifts gather to feed on the insects around the site.

A floating raft, installed on the Great Northern Reservoir in 2008, is designed to attract nesting terns.