Yorkshire Walks

The Derwent Reservoirs

Map based on Ordnance Survey mapping by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. © Crown Copyright.

A pleasant Derwent Valley walk taking in the contrasting landscapes of wild moor, forest and lake.

Length of walk: 6 miles
Start: Kings Tree, reached by bus from the Fairholmes car park beneath the Derwent Reservoir dam.
Finish: Fairholmes car park.
Terrain: An easy walk on stony tracks round the reservoir shores.

A circuit of the Upper Derwent valley and its reservoirs makes one of the finest low routes in the Peak, but for many it is too long and involves some road waking. However, by taking the bus from the Fairholmes car park up the west side of the valley to Kings Tree, the road walking can eliminated and the length of the walk reduced to manageable proportions.

From the little roundabout by the bus stop at the end of the tarmac road, go through the gate and follow the flinted forest road that continues between the spruce trees and the Howden Reservoir. It descends to a splendid but isolated twin arched bridge at Slippery Stones. This 17th-century bridge once spanned the river further south at Derwent village, but the construction of the Ladybower dam, which began in 1935, meant that the whole area would be submerged beneath the waters of the Derwent. The bridge was dismantled and the stones numbered. In 1959, it was reconstructed.

Cross the bridge and turn left on a path that meets a stony track that has traced the eastern shores of Howden Reservoir. Turn left along the track, which traverses a wide, grassy area at the foot of Cranberry Clough. At a ford, cross the stream on a footbridge to the left, before continuing with the track along the east side of the river. The sprucewoods have now been left behind and the walk enters the Upper Derwent valley. Scattered oaks surround the river, and the hills close in to form a narrow ravine.

The valley swings left beyond Broadhead Clough and the track follows suit on its way to the inner recesses of Bleaklow. Although the view is a spectacular one with rocky escarpments of Crow Stones and Horse Stone Naze crowding the fast flowing River Derwent, it's time to turn back to discover the eastern shores of the Howden and Derwent Reservoirs.

Retrace the outward route down the valley to Slippery Stones, but stay with the stony track rather than descending to the bridge. It climbs above a thin strip of woodland and at the foot of the steep flanks of Cold Side, where the river widens to become the Howden Reservoir. The track rounds the sides of Cow Hey, looping in to Howden Clough before resuming its southerly course down the main valley to the stone-built Howden Dam.

The Howden Reservoir was the first of the Derwent Reservoirs to be started in 1901: the Derwent was started a year later. To facilitate the moving of stone from Longshaw Quarry near Bamford, the Derwent Water Board built a railway that terminated just short of the site of the Howden Dam. Workers were housed in a temporary village of corrugated iron huts. Tin Town, as it was known, was sited at the foot of Birchinlee Pasture on the far side of the Derwent Reservoir. By 1917 the project was finished. The two hundred-foot­plus high dams held back 4,100 million gallons of water, which submerged beautiful pastures.

The track continues alongside the eastern shore of the Derwent Reservoir, passing beneath more conifers and rhododendron bushes. Nearly two miles later it reaches the Derwent Dam, where there is a memorial to 617 Squadron ­ the Dambusters, who buzzed this place on low-level practices for their May 1943 raid on Moehne and Eder Dams in Germany. At the side of the dam, take the little path on the right, descending through the woods down to a tarmac lane at its foot. Turn right along the lane, which leads back to the Fairholmes car park, where there's a shop.

The information given in this walk has been provided in good faith and is intended only as a general guide. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that details were correct at the time of publication, the author and Country Publications Ltd cannot accept any responsibility for inaccuracies. It is the responsibility of individuals undertaking outdoor activities to approach the activity with caution and, especially if inexperienced, to do so under appropriate supervision. The activity described in this walk is strenuous and individuals should ensure that they are suitably fit before embarking upon it. They should carry the appropriate equipment and maps, be properly clothed and have adequate footwear. They should also take note of weather conditions and forecasts, and leave notice of their intended route and estimated time of return.