Cold Side Oaks

The northern arm of the reservoir looking south from the end of the public road. The water level looks low though the reservoir was 50% full at the time.

Close to the top of The Derwent Reservoirs. The head of Howden Reservoir lies in the valley to the left.

A side tongue of Howden Reservoir

It overlooks Howden Reservoir

View over Howden Reservoir with the towers of the dam visible in the distance.

Bridleway through forestry above Howden Reservoir.

It crosses The River Derwent north of the reservoirs. Originally, it was located six miles downstream linking the now flooded village of Derwent with Derwent Hall. It was reassembled in its current location in 1959

View of SK1693 : Ridge Clough, in the Upper Derwent Valley, seen from SK1991 : Lost Lad.

Howden Reservoir is a Y-shaped reservoir, the highest of the three in the Upper Derwent Valley. The western half of the reservoir lies in Derbyshire, whereas the eastern half is in South Yorkshire: the county boundary runs through the middle of the reservoir, following the original path of the River Derwent. The longest arm is around 1.25 miles (2 km) in length. At the southern end is Howden Dam. Below this, the River Derwent flows immediately into Derwent Reservoir, and subsequently Ladybower Reservoir. Other tributaries include Howden Clough, Linch Clough and the River Westend. The Industrial Revolution and urbanisation of the 19th century created huge demand for water in the industrial cities of the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. Derwent Valley Water Board was created in 1899, to supply water to Derby, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield. The proximity of Sheffield, combined with high average rainfall and low population, made the case for reservoir construction. and the decision to dam the valley to create the Howden and Derwent reservoirs. Between 1901 and 1903 a standard gauge railway of over 7 miles (11 km) was built from Bamford, to carry the thousands of tons of huge stones required for the construction of the two dams. Near to the southern end lay the newly opened quarry at Bole Hill. Remains of the railway can still be seen alongside Derwent Reservoir as well as at the western end of Ladybower Dam, where over 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of cutting and trackway remain, and are known locally as 'The Route'. Between the Howden and Derwent dams, the present road was built over the railway. After supplying well over a million tons of stone Bole Hill Quarry was closed in September 1914, with the end of the railway following soon after. The section between the Hope Valley Line at Hope and Yorkshire Bridge was relaid in 1935 to aid the construction of Ladybower Dam, but closed again in 1946. Over 1,000 workers lived in the specially constructed self-contained village of Birchinlee, known as 'Tin Town', which consisted of well ordered corrugated iron homes along with shops, a school and a village hall. One of the metal huts was preserved and moved to Hope, where it is now a hairdressing salon. The workers that died during the construction of the dam were buried in Bamford churchyard. Work commenced on the dam's construction on 16 July 1901, and was completed in 1912. It is of solid masonry construction, 117 feet (36 metres) tall; 1,080 feet (330 metres) long, and impounds 1.9 million gallons (8,600 kilolitres) of water, from a catchment area of 5,155 acres (20.86 square kilometres). At the head of the reservoir, at Slippery Stones, stands a 17th century twin arched packhorse bridge, which once spanned the river at Derwent village. When Ladybower Reservoir was built in 1935, this would have been submerged beneath the waters. The bridge was dismantled, stone by stone, and in 1959 was rebuilt in memory of John Derry, editor of the 'Sheffield Independent'. Dalesman: Link Derbyshire UK: Link High Peak Interactive: Link Wikipedia: Link