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The Upper Derwent Valley in the Peak District National Park
Map of
the Upper Derwent Valley It is a beautiful area, extremely popular with walkers, cyclists, fishermen and many day visitors.
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 Derwent Reservoir |
Gritstone creates the high moorland plateau on either side of the valley. The rock was formed about 300 million years ago, when sands and muds were washed down from mountains to the north into a vast river delta. Pressure consolidated the sand and mud into gritstone and shale. Layers of both these rocks can be seen in the valley sides. Landslips have occurred where shale has become soft and overlying rocks have become unstable. Alport Castles is a famous example of such a landslip and is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
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Many hundreds of years ago, the Upper Derwent Valley area was used as a summer hunting ground for early hunter/gatherers. Little is known of the first settlers, who came later.
After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Upper Derwent Valley became part of the Royal Forest of the Peak. This was a hunting reserve (not a forest in the modern sense) and there were harsh punishments for local people who cut peat, gathered wood or hunted animals in the Forest. An ancient bridleway ran through the valley from Derwent to Glossop and was used by the trains of packhorses transporting goods across the Peak District.
The Forest area was given to
Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire and then, in the 16th century, to William
Cavendish (who became the Earl of Devonshire). Derwent Hall in the village
of Derwent, was built in 1672 by the Belguy family. It was later owned
by the Duke of Norfolk and became a Youth Hostel in 1931.
A turnpike road (where the owner charged a fee or toll for the use of the road)
was built through the Woodlands Valley by Thomas Telford in 1819. This road was
named the Snake Road in honour of the Duke of Devonshire, whose crest is a snake.
The road passed through the village of Ashopton, which grew with the increased
traffic. At the end of the 19th century Derwent and Ashopton were two typical
Peak District villages. The land around was not very fertile but there were 14
farms scattered in and around the valley. although the population was small,
the villages had churches, a school, inns and shops.
 The village of Derwent before the valley was flooded |
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A reservoir is a man-made lake used to store water. It is usually formed by damming a deep narrow valley with a river running through. Damming the valley allows the river water to be collected so flooding the valley.
The Upper Derwent Valley was
very attractive for building reservoirs as it had long deep valleys with
narrow points for dam building, a high rainfall (average 1350 mm per year)
and an almost uninhabited moorland catchment area.
The Peak District is surrounded by a number of large industrial towns
with a great demand for water. The Derwent Valley Water Board was set
up in 1899 to supply water to Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leicester.
Gothic style dams were built to contain the waters of Howden Reservoir
(1912) and Derwent Reservoir (1916). Birchinlee village was built to house
the workers and their families. Although sites for further reservoirs
were earmarked, at the time there was not enough demand.
It was later decided to build one very large reservoir, Ladybower. This
flooded the part of the valley where the villages of Derwent and Ashopton
lay. New houses were built for the villagers at Yorkshire Bridge. A viaduct
was built to carry the Snake Road over the reservoir at Ashopton and another
for the road to Yorkshire Bridge. The packhorse bridge at Derwent, which
had a Preservation Order on it, was moved stone by stone and rebuilt at
Slippery Stones at the head of the Howden Reservoir. The graves in the
churchyard were excavated and the bodies reburied in an extension to Bamford
churchyard.
Ladybower reservoir was completed in 1945.
With the dam complete, the waters gradually rose and the remains of the demolished villages disappeared. The Derwent church tower was left standing at first but that too was demolished in 1947.
A Water Act was passed in 1973 and in 1974 the Derwent Valley Water
Board's reservoirs and land were transferred to the newly formed Severn
Trent Water Authority, the second largest in the country. The Water
Act of 1989 privatised the water industry and Severn Trent Water became
a private company.
There were concerns that land of high conservation and recreation value
might be sold by the water companies. However, provision in the Act states
that the Countryside Commission must be consulted before the sale of land
owned by the water company in a National Park.
| Catchment area | 19,850 hectares |
| Reservoir capacity | 463692 million litres (3 reservoirs) |
| Treatment works | Yorkshire Bridge, opened 1929 |
| Water filtered, chlorine added and pH corrected | Bamford Stage I opened 1948 Bamford Stage II opened 1967 |
Where the water goes: (millions of litres)
450 (untreated) |
Sheffield |
| 172 (treated) | 77 Derbyshire 68 Leicester 27 Nottingham |
In 1943 the Ladybower Dam was used for practice runs by the 617 Dambusters Squadron of Lancaster Bombers. These were in preparation for the assault on the very similar Ruhr Valley dams in Germany, which were bombed in May 1943.
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After the last Ice Age - about 14,000 years ago - woodland spread over the Peak District. About 4 - 5,000 years ago, hunter/gatherers spread over the area, cutting and burning the trees to create clearings for hunting. This clearing of the land and the change in the climate, which was becoming cooler and wetter, produced peat bogs on flat areas (peat is the remains of sphagnum moss, preserved by acid, wet conditions).
 A grough |
The vegetation of the peat bogs consists mainly of cotton grass. Groughs (gullies)
and haggs (islands of peat left when most has eroded away) often have crowberry
and bilberry growing on their edges where the peat is drier. On the better drained
land heather, bilberry, cowberry, bracken, mat grass and purple moor grass for
the vegetation.
Grouse, which are shot by parties of hunters between 12 August and 10
December, feed on the young heather and nest in the taller patches. The
heather moors are managed for grouse by burning small patches in winter
(to encourage new young shoots to grow). Much of the moorland has been
declared a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of its special
vegetation and rare birds, such as the golden plover. It has been proposed
as a Special Protection Area for birds under a European Directive.
The farmers in this area are usually tenants. The typical hill farm has sheep and some cattle. There is enclosed (walled) land and some reclaimed moorland near to the farm and the farmer has grazing rights on the higher moorland. The sheep spend most of their lives on the moorland and high rough pastures. They are brought down for lambing, shearing and dipping. The white-faced woodland sheep is traditional in this area. The cattle are store cattle which are bred for beef but which are sold on to more fertile lowland farms at about six months old to be fattened.
The original woodlands of the valley have been reduced
by cutting and grazing and are now confined to a few areas. Ladybower Clough
is one such area. These woods are protected from grazing so that trees such
as sessile oak, birch and rowan can regenerate from seed.
The Severn Trent Water Company owns 829 hectares of planted woodland
and the Forestry Commission owns another 430 hectares. Most of these
woodlands are conifers (larch, pine and spruce) with some broadleaved
trees such as oak, beech and sycamore. As trees are cut for timber,
young trees are planted. Conifers are not natural in the Peak District,
but provide a habitat for some birds of prey and a few smaller birds.
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As the reservoirs hold very acid water, they support little wildlife except for some wildfowl such as red-breasted mergansers. Trout are put into the reservoirs for anglers. Common sandpipers nest on the shores but are easily disturbed - leaflets now encourage anglers and picnickers to leave them in peace when they are rearing young. The streams often have grey wagtails and dippers.
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The Derwent valley has been popular since the opening of the turnpike roads and the development of coaching routes. The Peak District National Park Visitor Survey of 1986/87 found that around 1.25 million people visit the general area each year and on a summer Sunday there may be up to 4,000 people and 600 parked cars. Until 1981 there was little provision for visitors in the valley. The roads were often congested on busy weekends causing chaos and problems of access for local farmers, foresters and emergency services.
 Car park and picnic area at Fairholmes |
A partnership Management Plan was written to try and solve some of these problems. Representatives were drawn from the Peak District National Park Authority, the Water Authority, Forestry Commission, National Trust, local councils and other interested parties. The joint action and funding of this management project has been a key point in its success. The scheme won awards for Tourism Enterprise (1982) and Conservation (1988).
Reducing problems of congestion through:
1. Traffic-free roads. Road north
of Fairholmes are closed to motor traffic at peak times and to coaches
all the time. A minibus is provided. The road east from Fairholmes is
closed to non-local motor traffic.
2. Six new and improved car parks for 450 cars and 3
coaches have been provided, including one at Fairholmes (200
cars).
3. Bus services from surrounding towns and cities have been improved.
 Cycle Hire |
 Valley Bus Service |
Improving wildlife conservation through:
1. Carrying out a detailed
ecological survey and implementing recommendations.
Conserving the distinctive character of the area through:
1. Landscape improvement schemes including the removal of concrete post
and wire fencing.
2. A tree planting scheme increasing broadleaved plantations and improved
the appearance of the landscape.
3. Opening up views across the reservoir.
Improving Facilities for Recreation through:
Visitor
Centre at Fairholmes |
Ranger liasing with local Police |
1. A new building at Fairholmes providing
an enlarged Visitor Centre plus refreshments and toilets. Publications
on local history and walks are sold at the Visitor Centre and a free illustrated
visitors' guide is available on request.
2. A cycle hire centre established in 1987. Around 15,000 cycles are now
hired each year.
3. A full-time ranger, employed jointly by the National Park Authority
and Severn Trent Water, appointed to carry out liaison with local farmers,
landowners and visitors.
4. New and improved footpaths waymarked from the car park at Fairholmes,
including a section for wheelchairs. 12 miles of new concessionary routes
agreed.
5. Boat fishing allowed with a now well-established and popular trout
fishery. A platform for disabled anglers at Ladybower. Sub aqua diving
also takes place at Ladybower.
6. Attractive information boards interpreting popular features and sites.
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Providing recreation facilities
is not always plain sailing ......
In 1981 proposals to allow sailing on Ladybower reservoir met stiff opposition.
Ladybower Sailing Club (formed in 1980) made a planning application to
the Peak District National Park Authority to build a sailing club on the
northern arm of the reservoir. Opponents, including the National Trust,
the Nature Conservancy Council (now English Nature) and the Ramblers Association
argued that important species of ducks, and other birds could be driven
away. A beautiful landscape could also be ruined. The application was
refused.
An appeal was made in 1984 against the planning decision not to allow
the sailing club on the northern arm of the reservoir. A further proposal
for a base on the southern arm was put forward. Severn Trent Water opposed
this as it was considered an unsafe site and would conflict with other
recreational activities in the area. The appeal was dismissed and it was
decided that no site for sailing could be found on the Ladybower reservoir.
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What would your reaction have been if you had lived in the valley and been told it would be flooded and so you had to move?
What might the areas of conflict be today in the valley? How could these be resolved?
For more information on any of the subjects highlighted in this factsheet try searching the archive.
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