How Proud It Makes Me Feel ! (Ladybower Reservoir (Derbyshire))

Member Name: Emmald

Product:	Ladybower Reservoir (Derbyshire)
Date:	08/03/09 (132 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A wonderful place to visit

Disadvantages: Not one single thing

Just a couple of weeks ago we made a point of buying the Mail on Saturday simply because it came with a free copy of the DVD, The Dambusters.
The storyline is based on a true life story and it tells of the blood, sweat and tears that Dr. Barnes Wallace went through to invent his amazing `bouncing bomb` that broke the Ruhr and the Eider Dams in Germany during the Second World War.
Many of you will be too young to have heard of the wartime story but Barnes succeeded in creating a bomb that actually bounced, skimming the water in `Ducks and Drakes` fashion until it hit its target, exploding on impact.
His marvellous invention was trialled at the Ladybower reservoir in the Hope Valley and in the film/DVD you clearly see the eeriness of the massive span of deep water and maybe visualise the huge bomb snaking and dancing its way across the waters surface.

The Upper Derwent Valley is for the most part in Derbyshire but the North Eastern area lies in Sheffield. There are a total of three dams which help to form three reservoirs, the dams are The Derwent, The Howden and Ladybower.

In 1899 the Derwent Valley Water Board ( The areas water supply is now looked after by the Severn Trent Water Board) was formed in order to create a water supply to Leicester, Derby, Sheffield and Nottingham. Two huge Gothic style dams were erected and spanned the River Derwent which in turn created two reservoirs, The Howden Reservoir in 1912 and The Derwent Reservoir in 1916.
Of course they had to draught in hundreds of `navvies` ( the workers who constructed the Dams ) to work on the project, all of whom had to have accommodation for themselves and their families.
So to make this possible a large village was built to the West of the Derwent and it was named Birchinlea, but later became known as ` Tin Town` by its inhabitants.
Many of those who worked on the construction of the Dams had travelled up to Derbyshire after finishing work on the Elan Valley reservoirs in Wales. They transported materials with the aid of a purpose built narrow gauge railway.

As the years passed by it soon became clear that if they were going to be able to supply sufficient water to all of the inhabitants in the area another dam was going to have to be constructed. Hence as World War Two started to gather momentum the construction of the Ladybower Dam was well under way.
But before they were able to start work on forming Ladybower reservoir there were certain factors that had to be taken into account, first of all the villages of Ashopton and Derwent were directly in the path of the reservoir, so all of the villagers were moved to the Yorkshire Bridge estate. A mass exhumation took place as a burial ground would have also been flooded, the bodies were then buried at the nearby Bamford churchyard.
As we all know there are many things of outstanding natural beauty that are protected with preservation orders and this applied to a `Packhorse Bridge` that needed to be re-sited, the bridge was taken apart and then rebuilt at a place called `Slippery Stones` which lays North of the Howden Reservoir. The Ladybower Reservoir was eventually completed in 1945.


Dr. Barnes Wallis needed to carry out tests on the performance of his `Bouncing Bomb` and decided that Ladybower was the ideal testing place. Ladybower and the Ruhr Valley in Germany were topographically alike and in 1943 the Lancaster bombers of the 617 Squadron ( Also known as The Dam Busters) used Ladybower as a practise run leading up to their successful bombing raids on the Ruhr Valley Dams.
It is well known that the Squadron were berated by locals for their `joyriding!` as the Lancaster bombers carried out endless practise runs to achieve the right height and speed for dropping their bombs the chickens and cows went into a state of semi-shock and the local milk and egg production plummeted!

Nowadays the area is one of outstanding natural beauty and is visited by people from all over the World.
There are designated parking spaces that are free of charge. We were fortunate and made our last visit when it was quiet. As you cast your eyes over the vast expanse of water I can only describe the feeling as one of complete eeriness! It is chillingly beautiful yet in another way it is surreal, the water appears to be `bottomless` and for anyone like me that has an inbuilt fear of deep water it can be fairly scary!
Take the walk across the vast stone bridge and you are completely surrounded by the most magnificent panoramas. As reflections bounce off the surface of the glassy water you are compelled to look over the edge of the bridge at the staggering beauty that surrounds you. Lush green fields and dry stone walls for as far as the eye can see, visit later in the year and you will experience the carpet of trees changing colour with the season.

Ladybower reservoir is now frequented by keen anglers, in particular fly fishermen, walkers and bird watchers. It is quite possible that you will see an otter and grey squirrels are everywhere!
The area has good cycling facilities, both for ordinary cycling and mountain biking, although the tracks are reasonably flat in the main they are considered as being relatively rough. There is a cycle hire facility at Fairholmes Visitor Centre.
The area is of special interest to bird watchers and between the months of February and May it is possible to spot certain birds of prey. The expert watchers suggest that your visit should be on a weekday morning to maximise the chances of spotting maybe a Peregrine or a Goshawk.
Of course many visitors have four legged friends and dogs love nothing better than a romp around but they advise that dogs are kept on leashes so as not to disturb the precious wildlife.
Because the weather can be so unpredictable they naturally suggest that if you are going to wander far and wide that you make sure that you wear the right type of clothing.

If you are looking for in depth information there is an excellent museum which is situated in the West Tower of the Derwent Dam, just a short distance away from the Fairholmes car park and visitor centre. Video footage and memorabilia all about the Dam Busters raids are there for all to see along with a lot of information about the area and the local inhabitants of yesteryear.
But bear in mind that the centre is only open on Sundays and Bank Holidays from 10am -4pm.
Free admission but there is a donation box.


The Peak District has always been recognised an an area of outstanding natural beauty and it is almost certainly an area that we should be proud of.
Great Britain has some incredible scenery and Ladybower is well worth putting on your list of places to visit.
The Ladybower Inn is on the A57 Sheffield to Manchester road and overlooks the Ladybower Reservoir. A Free House that serves real ales as well as other draught lagers and beers.
A wide and varied menu that caters for all with a good wine list.
They have seven en suite guest rooms and one ground floor suite that is suitable for anyone who is disabled.

Summary: A brilliant day out for all of the family.