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Peak District

The Ladybower Reservoir Walk: Routes, Dams and the Drowned Village

Three reservoirs in one valley, a pair of Victorian-Gothic dam towers used to practise the Dambusters raid, and a village still down there under the water. The paths are flat and the length is entirely up to you.

Published 18 August 2026

The Upper Derwent Valley holds three reservoirs in a line: Howden at the top, Derwent in the middle, Ladybower at the bottom. Together they supply water across the East Midlands and South Yorkshire, and the tracks around them make the most flexible walking in the Peak District: you can do two miles or fourteen on the same waymarked network without ever facing a real climb.

Which route to take

RouteDistanceCharacter
Ladybower dam wall and Ashopton2 milesShort leg-stretch with the bellmouth overflows
Derwent Dam circuit4 milesThe Gothic towers, the Dambusters connection, the best short option
Derwent and Howden loop8 milesBoth upper reservoirs, forest track most of the way
Full Ladybower circuit10–12 milesRound the whole lower reservoir, including the eastern shore
Almost all of it is on surfaced forest road or firm track, so it stays walkable in poor weather.

If you only do one, take the Derwent Dam circuit. The dam wall is the set piece: two castellated stone towers, built between 1902 and 1916, that look like a Victorian idea of a fortress rather than a piece of water infrastructure.

The Dambusters

617 Squadron used the Derwent Dam for low-level flying practice before the 1943 raid on the Ruhr dams, because its towers and the surrounding valley resembled the German targets. The connection is still marked at the site, and the valley remains a fixture of commemorative flypasts.

The drowned villages

Building Derwent and Howden meant flooding the valley, and two settlements, Derwent and Ashopton, went under when Ladybower was filled in the 1940s. In severe droughts the water drops far enough to expose the remains of Derwent village: walls, gateposts and the packhorse bridge foundations. It happens rarely and it draws crowds when it does.

Practicalities

  • Parking: Fairholmes is the main visitor centre and car park, and it fills early on weekends.
  • Road closures: the road up the western side beyond Fairholmes closes to cars on summer weekends and bank holidays, which is excellent news for walkers and cyclists.
  • Bikes: the forest roads are ideal, and there is hire at Fairholmes.
  • Dogs: fine on the tracks. See dog-friendly sites in the Peak District.

Adding height

If flat isn’t enough, Win Hill rises directly above the southern end of Ladybower and gives one of the best views in the Peak for a relatively short climb. It links neatly to Lose Hill and the Great Ridge. See the Mam Tor walk.

Where to stay

The Hope Valley and Bamford sit just south of the reservoirs and are the practical bases. We list 13 sites within fifteen miles.

Glamping near Ladybower

Within fifteen miles of the Upper Derwent Valley.

See all 13 sites (7 more not shown here).

Common questions

How long is the walk around Ladybower Reservoir?
The full circuit of Ladybower is roughly 10 to 12 miles. Shorter options include a 4-mile Derwent Dam circuit and a 2-mile loop at the dam wall.
Is the Ladybower walk flat?
Yes, almost all of it follows surfaced forest roads and firm waterside tracks with very little ascent.
Why is Ladybower connected to the Dambusters?
617 Squadron practised low-level flying over the Derwent Dam before the 1943 Ruhr dams raid, because the towers and valley resembled the German targets.
Can you see the drowned village at Ladybower?
Only in severe drought, when water levels fall far enough to expose the remains of Derwent village. It is rare and unpredictable.

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