The Great Outdoors Spring 2019

(Jacob Rumans) #1
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

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