Longdendale
Shapping The Land
Wildlife
Early History
Developing Transport Routes
Water Power
Electric Power
Reservoirs
Tourism And Recreation
Management Plan

Longdendale

The Peak District National Park covers 555 square miles (1438 square kilometres) at the southern tip of the Pennines. It lies at the junction of highland and lowland Britain.
Longdendale means a long dale (or valley). This long V-shaped valley runs from east to west across the Pennines. Five reservoirs in the valley contain the waters of the River Etherow - a tributary of the Mersey. Not far from the town of Glossop, Longdendale lies on one of the main trans-Pennine routes linking Manchester with Sheffield.

Shaping the land

Longdendale is in the Dark Peak - a horseshoe of high moorland around the central and southern limestone area of the National Park (the White Peak ). The rocks under the surface of the Dark Peak are Millstone Grit (a coarse sandstone) and softer shales, which together form the highest parts of the Park. The steep cliffs of the gritstone edges are popular with climbers and the lower lying shale valleys provide the ideal landscape for water storage.
These rocks were deposited in the Carboniferous period around 250 to 280 million years ago. At this time the area was covered by the estuary of a huge river flowing down from what are now the highlands of Scotland. The sands washed down by the river formed the sandstones and the mud formed the shales. Periods of glaciation during several Ice Ages (between one million and 10,000 years ago) together with more gradual erosion, have formed the unusual landforms seen on the moorland.

The landscape

The vegetation of Longdendale reflects the geological mix. Oak and birch woodland once covered much of the land but from about 3,000 BC early farmers started to clear the land to grow crops. Around 2,500 years ago, the climate became wetter and cooler. The change in climate and the intensive cultivation, caused the upper limit of the woodland to retreat, leaving the high exposed moorland to be colonised by heather and grasses. Plants found on the moorland now include cotton grass, bilberry, heather, crowberry, hare's tail, cross-leaved heath, cowberry and cloudberry and the nationally rare Labrador tea.

• The highest land has a deep peat blanket dominated by cotton grass. Britain is one of the most important countries in the world for conservation of these blanket bogs.
  
• On slopes up to around 350 metres, there is a shallow peat layer where heather is the most abundant species.
  
• The lower slopes have a few remnants of the native woodlands and many, newer conifer plantations. Numerous springs and bogs provide ideal conditions for mosses and marsh plants, tolerant of acid conditions.

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Wildlife

Mountain hare

Moorland areas around Longdendale support a variety of wildlife. Foxes and voles inhabit the moors and the uncommon mountain hare can be glimpsed occasionally. Birds such as the red grouse, ring ouzel, wheatear and twite can be seen. For many moorland birds e.g. the golden plover, the area is of international conservation importance. Predatory birds such as the kestrel, merlin and the short-eared owl also nest in the area. Redstart, woodpecker and flycatchers are found in the woodlands, while the grey heron can be seen anywhere in the valley. The reservoirs attract a variety of wildfowl. Mallards are the most common birds, but the valley also has teal, pochard, sandpipers, gulls and Canada geese.

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Early history

Microliths or small flints show evidence of Mesolithic hunters and gatherers living in the Peak District from around 8,000 BC. Bronze Age farmers were the first to farm the high gritstone moorlands - from around 3000 BC.

Roman occupation of the Peak District was probably due to lead mining activity in the area. Melandra is the name given to the Roman fort at Glossop - occupied until at least 370 AD and probably until the Romans left Britain. The road from Melandra over the moors via Woodlands Valley, Alport Bridge, Hope Cross and Hope to the fort of Navio at Brough, has been known as Doctors Gate for at least 350 years and parts of it can still be traced today. The mound called Torside Castle is said to be the ancient burial ground of Roman soldiers and many myths surround this area of moorland.

Royal Forest

Described as a 'waste' in the Domesday Book and given to William Peveril by William the Conqueror, Longdendale became part of the Royal Forest of the Peak in the 12th century. The forest was inhabited by wild boar, red deer, wolves, bears and wild bulls - though only the King and his noblemen were allowed to hunt them. Later, the land was farmed by monks and most of the remaining woodland cleared for sheep grazing.
For many centuries farming was the main use of the land in Longdendale. The better quality lowland provided grazing for beef and dairy cattle while the

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Developing transport routes

From the middle ages, salt was brought from Northwich, Middlewich and Nantwich on pack horses up through Longdendale to Salter's Brook, where one track went on to Sheffield and the other headed north to Wakefield. The name Salter's Brook reflects this important trade.

Packhorse bridges were just wide enough for horses to pass in single file, with parapets low enough to avoid the swinging baskets. The 18th century Lady Shaw Bridge has been restored. The salt trade increased when the new turnpike road from Cheshire to Yorkshire was authorised in 1731.

The railway

The railway through Longdendale, started in 1839 and completed in 1845, provided the first rail link between Manchester and Sheffield. The building of the 3-mile long Woodhead Tunnel to carry the line (the first opened in 1845 and a second in 1852) caused much misery and loss of life among the 1,500 'navvies' (workers hired to build the tunnels). When completed though, it brought prosperity and employment to the area with heavy coal traffic between the pits of Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire and the industries of Lancashire. Stations at Hadfield, Crowden and Woodhead handled passenger and goods traffic.

Above: The Woodhead Tunnel during the steam age Right: Woodhead Chapel where navvies are buried

A new, larger tunnel replaced the two single tunnels in 1954 - now the third longest tunnel in England. However with the increasing use of road transport, traffic on the line dwindled and the passenger service was withdrawn in 1970 with the freight service ending in 1981. The Longdendale Trail now occupies part of the railway route.

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Water power

Power for the textile mills in the valley was provided by the swiftly-flowing water of the River Etherow in the 18th and 19th centuries. Cotton was processed at Vale House Mill, Paradise Mill, Bottoms Lodge Mill and Torside Mill (later a paper mill) with a bleach works at Crowden. At one time there were 112 cotton mills in the Longdendale area - 56 of them around Glossop. Three of the mills were later covered by the waters of the reservoirs.

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Electric power

Electricity is carried between Cheshire and Yorkshire through the Longdendale Valley. The pylons provide a 'futuristic' element in the traditional green landscape.
To preserve part of the moorland landscape, the line is routed through a disused Woodhead railway tunnel. Before the cable could be laid, nine inches of soot had to be removed from the walls of the tunnel, the tunnel had to be reinforced, the brickwork repointed and air shafts blocked. An oil-insulated lead-sheathed

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Reservoirs

By 1841 the population of Manchester had grown to 235,507. People were just starting to link the spread of disease with polluted water supplies and there was an urgent need for pure water for the people of Manchester. In 1844 John Frederic La Trobe Bateman was appointed to design and construct a series of reservoirs to provide water from the Pennines for Manchester.
Work began on the reservoirs in 1848 and these were completed as follows: Arnfield and Hollingworth - 1854, Rhodeswood - 1855, Torside - 1864, Vale House - 1869, Bottoms and Woodhead - 1877.
Construction started on Woodhead dam in 1848 but instability in the underlying rock caused the embankment to leak badly and it had to be abandoned.
A second embankment was started in 1862 and was one of the first to use a concrete filled cut-off trench instead of puddle clay. The dam was finally completed in 1877.
When the whole reservoir supply scheme was finally completed in 1884, it was a great achievement as the reservoirs were the longest chain in the world at that time.
Hollingworth reservoir was abandoned in 1987 and has been incorporated in the Swallows Wood Nature Reserve.

Construction of the reservoirs limited farming as the good quality lowland farms disappeared under the water and all land use in the water catchment area had to be restricted, for fear of polluting the reservoirs.
Treatment works built at Arnfield and Godley in the 1960s, meant a lessening of restrictions on activities around the reservoirs. There is now a greater emphasis on encouraging traditional farming in the valley.
Today the Longdendale reservoirs are North West Water's fifth largest resource, supplying some 102 megalitres of water each day to the eastern part of Manchester. The reservoirs also provide an attractive feature in the landscape. The water gathering ground covers around 7,800 hectares, taking advantage of the heavy rainfall around Longdendale (around 1333 mm annually).

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Tourism and recreation

Longdendale Valley provides a variety of recreation activities, including a sailing club on Torside reservoir; water skiing and fishing on Bottoms reservoir; horseriding, cycling and walking on the Longdendale Trail , (also suitable for people with disabilities); camping at Crowden and climbing at three different sites. There are two official car parks - Crowden and Torside - and a picnic area and information point at Torside.

One of the main roads from Manchester to Sheffield (the A628) runs right through the valley, alongside the reservoirs and the traffic passing through the area is heavy.

Where do visitors come from?

A visitor survey undertaken in 1995 found that the largest proportion (19%) came from the Stockport and South Manchester areas with 16% coming from the local Glossop and Hadfield areas.

The vast majority (over 90%) come by car. There are summer bus services but not many people (around 10-20%) knew about them.

Many visitors on foot are following part of the 250 mile Pennine Way which crosses the valley at Torside Reservoir. Those on horseback or bicycle will soon be able to use the new Pennine Bridleway.

What do visitors do?

The table shows the activities of the total number of visitors sampled over four

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Management Plan

In 1981 a plan 'Longdendale Today and Tomorrow' was published which provided the basis for a programme of changes in the valley. A committee was drawn from the National Park Authority, North West Water and other relevant groups, to co-ordinate action through partnership.

• The Longdendale Trail
  A major achievement has been the development of this hard surfaced path. The trail follows the disused Woodhead railway line from Hadfield station to the Woodhead tunnels and continues over the moorland tracks via Salters Brook to Yorkshire.
  The Longdendale Trail forms part of the Trans Pennine Trail which will run from coast to coast - from Liverpool to Hull.
  In July 1996, the Trail became an extension to Euroroute E8 which runs from Holland to northern Turkey - some 2,000 miles!
  
  

  Top & right: The Longdendale Trail Above: Torside Information Centre

  
  
  
• Torside Visitor Centre has been established with parking for 100 cars (plus overspill parking for a further 80-90), a toilet block, information room, picnic area and wheelchair access to Torside reservoir and the Longdendale Trail.
  
  
• Information for the public has been greatly improved with a guide called '10 Walks around Longdendale', a free leaflet 'Upper Longdendale - Visitors Guide', and a leaflet on the 'Longdendale Trail'. Provision of information boards at a number of key sites helps people enjoy their visit.
  
  
• Crowden has been expanded to provide a small public campsite, Youth Hostel, car park and toilets.
  
  
• Further paths and bridleways have been established and a circular walking route around Torside reservoir provided.
  
  
• The Ranger Service has been expanded in the Longdendale valley with extra funding from North West Water. National Park Rangers now manage the Longdendale Trail, as well as organising conservation projects and assisting the public.
  
  
• Conservation work on historic sites and on moorland and woodland areas, has also been undertaken as part of the Management Plan.
  
  
• A role for education
  Further projects under discussion at the moment include the provision of an environmental education centre - run as a partnership between the Peak District National Park and North West Water. Here interested groups of all types will be able to find out more about the special qualities of the area, the importance of water and its impact on the landscape.
  

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