Christmas and New Year - Derwent Reservoir
An extended time off from work over Christmas certainly presents an opportunity to get out and explore the countryside.
Living in the Midlands has one very big bonus. You have the ability to escape the city and get out into the countryside very easily, especially if you have/have access to a car. We have a bit of an in-house joke that Coventry is the best place to live if you want to get to somewhere else. Easily within an hour or two of some really interesting places we used this to our advantage and took the bull by the horns and jumped in the car…
The Hike
As a family we absolutely love the Peak District. The views are stunning, the wilderness wild and the walking is superb. On this occasion we decided to go somewhere that had a nice ‘easy’ walk that wasn’t going to be too much for a 6yr old. So, we headed for the Hope Valley, specifically to the Derwent and Ladybower Reservoirs where we knew there were good accessible paths and not too much altitude change.
We set off on the 3hr drive early so we could take the hike at a relaxed pace and just take in the scenery. On arrival we found the car park busy with not many spaces left by the time we got there at 11:30. We parked in the Fairholmes Car Park where we knew there were facilities like toilets and a shop/snack bar hatch in case they were needed.
We took our OS map with us for reference but it’s a pretty straight forward route if you’re not heading out on one of the numerous trails out over the surrounding hills.
We opted to head North as we were already at the first dam so we actually didn’t walk around Ladybower on this occasion, that’s one for another time. We set off heading clockwise around the reservoir from the visitor center.
As we left the car park we took the left fork away from the walkway up to the top of the first dam. Once at the top the route is mainly along the access road for the reservoir and you’re always no more than 20 or so meters from the water’s edge.
The scenery was stunning. The weather was absolutely perfect with mostly blue skies and millpond like waters meaning the reflections from the water gave you beautiful mirror images of the surrounding tree line and peaks opposite. As it’s the depths of winter taking this route meant that we were without direct sunlight for a large part of the day as the sun wasn’t high enough to clear the peak the road runs along. This didn’t matter though as it was perfectly warm and bright enough without.
We continued to amble along until we got to the second dam (Howden Dam) in the set where we stopped briefly for a drink and snack. At this point along the walk we realised we’d made a huge mistake. Jess and I both remembered that you could cross one of the dams so we’d decided on the walk based on it being around 7km all in. However, reviewing the OS map and looking at the dam we realised we’d been thinking of somewhere totally different. So we were stuck in a quandary. We do turn back at that point or continue.
After a little huffing and puffing and deliberation at our obvious faux pas we decided to continue on round the path. Thinking we’d probably add another 4 or 5km to our estimate. We were wrong…
As you continue along the path you get to take in some of the archaeological detail of the area. The key element being ‘Tin Town’. This is an area along the side of the road that marks where the original workers who built the set of 3 dams lived during their construction. There are a few small plaques giving context to the now removed township. It was nice to see the history being embraced but it would be nicer to see a little more made of it as the plaques are hidden away from the path and everything has very much been reclaimed by nature at this point.
Continuing on you noticed the shear number of bikes ripping around the area. I’m sure we had the same people pass us two or three times throughout our walk. The riding would be nice and easy even with the slightly rockier areas of the path that we would find a little further on.
We stopped for lunch with a few of livestock on a hilltop field, much to the frustration of Wilbur who couldn’t go near them, mainly because the hillside was too steep at that point. Lunch that day consisted of a few flasks of hot soup prepared at home and some snacks and fruit to go along with it.
As we progressed we noticed distance markers which would’ve been helpful if we’d actually paid attention to how long the walk was but by this point we guessed that we were roughly half way round. We checked the map again and continued off on our way. By now we were at the top side of Howden Reservoir and looping round towards the top point of the walk. At this point the road steepens and then drops down to a turning spot for cars. From here on you’re off the road and onto shale farm tracks. We came across a herd of sheep roaming free who were slowly making their way up the hill to one of the farms as the farmer was calling them in, presumably for the night as it was mid-afternoon by now.
Looking up the hiilside to the left here you can see some of the forest being cleared (presumably for wood sale and coppicing) and new fencing and trees being replanted to replace what’d been cut down. It was nice to see the forest being actively worked.
The turning point of the walk is Slippery Stones. A beautiful stone built bridge crossing the river and representing the Southern turn back towards Derwent Dam. From here you head uphill on a track that leads you through farm land on the East side of the water. While you are heading up hill the incline is easy and perfectly suitable for children. I’m not sure by this point you’d be able to manage with a wheelchair as there are some raised elements on the uphill section which would represent a problem.
The hillside to your left is littered with newly built fencing and freshly planted trees with protector tubes to ensure they’re safe from the livestock that would normally be found roaming here. Frequently the serenity of the walk is broken by cyclists zooming past you. This is the only really off road terrain on the entire walk. It seemed as though the main route that cyclists take it to go anti-clockwise, presumably as the main altitude increase would be despatched at the start of your ride rather than at the end.
Looking to your right as you walk you’re greeted by treetop views of the reservoir and the peak that was previously preventing the sunlight from reaching you as you walked.
There are multiple livestock gates along the path so make sure you close them behind you.
A steady decline awaits as you continue on down the path, leading you back down towards the waterside and spectacular views across the water once again. as you wind your way around the waters edge you’re presented with an uninterrupted view of Howden Dam. The infinity pool effect of the high water level creates an abstract horizon that’s confusing and beautiful at the same time.
By now you’re around 14km into the walk, the total length being around 17km.
Unfortunately we were very much losing the light by now and realised we were going to be finishing the walk in the dark. We weren’t really prepared for that so only had the lights on our phones to help guide us back to the car.
All in all it was a great day off walking, even if the overall distance was a bit of a surprise. Eliot Mae did so well and didn’t complain once, just taking everything in her stride.
Rough distance covered: 10.5 miles.
Christmas and New Year distance tally: 24.5 miles
A Few Things To Remember
As a bit o pre-visit advice here are a few things to remember:
Distance - If you don’t want to do the full 10.5 mile walk, head South from the visitor center (either on the East or West side) and you’ll head to the bottom side of Derwent Reservoir where it joins Ladybower. This will be a shorter walk and has options to head up and over the East side peaks if required.
Cycling - Cycling here would be great (we’re planning on taking the bikes there at some point) and shouldn’t be too much of a hassle to ride on a MTB or Gravel bike. You could easily do 2 or 3 laps in a day to get a good 30+ miles in.
Facilities - The only facilities along the walk is at the visitor center. Make sure you’re prepared for a good few hours of walking and that you have food, drinks, waterproofs and warm clothing just in case the weather turns.
Dogs - As the first half of the path is alongside the road there are frequent cars driving past. Having a dog off a lead here wouldn’t be the most sensible thing to do (in our opinion) but obviously some people do let their dogs off. Once you’re through into the farmland there are signs saying dogs must be on leads due to the free-roaming livestock. On the East side of the reservoir, once you’re past the farmland, there isn’t really any reason to not let them off if you know you can trust them, but be aware the drops down to the water are pretty steep in places.
Other Info - The reservoir has a strict ‘no drones’ policy so leave it at home. It was quite nice not to hear the ‘swarm of bees’ sound of drones.
Always read the map carefully! - We made an obvious mistake with reading the map and out recollection of being able to cross the dam. Luckily it didn’t matter too much because we had plenty of time to walk the full distance but could’ve been an issue if it was colder and the weather less inclement.
