The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

of Ladybower. he trees are tall – from a

distance the plantations look as neat and

speared as ields of crops – but they allow

plenty of iltered light onto the forest loor.

Grass is growing abundantly between the

thin, runkled trunks, and the air is green

and cool. A couple of thrushes are hopping

about among ferns and mossy stumps. It’s a

pleasant place to walk.

Nearer the water, however, the conifers

are smaller, tighter and more Christmas-tree

like. It does feel unnatural, in truth – but it

also feels settled. And the area where the

River Ashop meets this western spur of

the reservoir looks at times like the kind

of rolling pastoral scene Constable might

have painted. Mallards swim on the surface,

foxgloves nod gently and a buzzard spirals

overhead. Trying to rewind the image to

imagine how it might all have looked

pre-reservoir is no easier than staring at a

city skyline and mentally stripping away all

the post-war architecture.

By the time I make an up and down

of Hagg Side and reach the Fairholmes

Visitor Centre, I’ve also been reminded of

something relevant: these reservoirs have

become magnets for pleasure-seekers. It’s

an ice cream kind of day, and every two-

wheeled visitor in the park seems to have

converged on the little centre. here are

some 15 miles of predominantly lat cycling

and hiking trails around the reservoirs.

hey ofer a hugely diferent Peak District

experience to feeling the drizzle on your

face on Kinder Scout, say, but they’re no

less popular.

hey also give plenty for history-lovers

to get their teeth into. he construction

of the dams and reservoirs took years

apiece. Derwent Dam once had as many

as 2,753 people working on it, most of

whom were housed in a temporary (and

now dismantled) hillside settlement of

corrugated iron, known as Tin Town. he

Y-shaped Ladybower Reservoir, for its

Maps: Map: OS 1:25,000 Explorer
sheet OL1 (The Peak District -
Dark Peak area)

Transport: Bus service 273/4/5
connects Ladybower Reservoir to
Shefield, Castleton and Bakewell

A PEAK

DISTRICT

RESERVOIR

WALK

START/FINISH Yorkshire

Bridge GR: SK201854

(SATNAV: LA22 9JY)

Distance: 24km/15 miles

Ascent: 1150m/3770ft

Start/ inish

52 The Great Outdoors Spring 2019