About Us

Welcome to Bartley Sailing Club situated on Bartley Reservoir in the South-Western outskirts of Birmingham.

We are a friendly and welcoming group of enthusiasts, whether it's for cruising, racing, learning or even just a chat in the clubhouse we look forward to meeting you at our club. Here is just a taste of what we offer.

Our Aim

Bartley Sailing Club is volunteer run and relies on individual membership, group membership and partner revenue sharing agreements to sustain operations and fund growth. The club aims to promote sailing and watersports on Bartley Reservoir and make them accessible to as many people as possible, leading to a lifelong enjoyment of out door exercise, relaxation and competition on the water.

Training

We are an RYA affiliated club and (soon to be) RYA training centre. We offer a wide range of sailing training for beginners and improvers as well as Powerboat L2 courses. Once trained, new sailing enthusiasts are encouraged to join the club to continue perfecting their skills and become part of the Bartley Sailing Club Community. Full details of our current training opportunities can be found on our Training page.

Juniors

During the summer months our ever popular K2O club introduces and develops our young sailors from the age of 8 to 18 starting at RYA stage 1 in Fusions and Picos progressing to RYA level 4 in the exciting RS Feva class, blasting across the reservoir with spinnaker flying!

K2O Sailing Club and K2O Race Club can be booked via our Training page.

Sailing & Windsurfing

We sail on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesday afternoons all year and on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in the Summer.

There is a full programme of both pursuit and handicap races for our members to enjoy as well as plenty of water to just cruise and practice boat / board handling.

The club runs a number of class specific Open Meetings throughout the year enabling members to test their skills against the best sailors in the region and the country.

Stand-up Paddleboarding

Bartley is not just about sailing though, we have a very active SUP club who enjoy exercising around the perimeter of the 120 acre reservoir.

Facilities / Social

We have a large clubhouse to get changed and showered in after a day on the water. There is a licenced members bar and Tilly's Galley to serve hot and cold food at the weekends. We have outdoor and indoor seating areas and regular social activities and events for all to enjoy.

Our boatpark is large enough for our membership to store their boats on site in a secure compound with easy access to the water via concrete slipways.

History

Built around 1900 Bartley reservoir is gravity fed from the Elan Valley in Wales and contains drinking water for the local area (managed by Severn Trent Water). The club was founded in the late 1970's by local sailors who saw the potential of the size of water and the wind accelerating down the hill at the top end of the reservoir in the prevailing South-Westerlies. From early beginnings of a portacabin on some gravel the club quickly grew enabling the clubhouse, carpark, race office, pontoons and launching areas to be constructed providing the excellent facilities you see today.

Last updated 15:38 on 14 May 2026