Ladybower Reservoir Peak District
Ladybower Reservoir in the Upper Derwent Valley of the Peak District is the largest of the three great Derwent Valley reservoirs and one of the most dramatically situated bodies of water in the Peak District, a Y-shaped reservoir beneath the dark gritstone moorland of the eastern Peak whose combination of the dam architecture, the reservoir landscape and the extraordinary history of the submerged villages of Derwent and Ashopton drowned when the reservoir was filled in 1945 creates one of the most historically and scenically interesting reservoir destinations in England.
The Dambusters connection is Ladybower's most celebrated historical association. The Barnes Wallis bouncing bomb was tested on the reservoir in 1943 and the bombing crews of 617 Squadron practised their low-level dam-busting approach over the Derwent Valley reservoirs. The annual Dambusters Memorial flypast by Lancaster bombers over the Derwent dam commemorates this connection each year and draws large crowds of aviation enthusiasts.
The drowned villages of Derwent and Ashopton create the most poignant dimension of the reservoir story, the communities evacuated when the reservoir was filled and the church steeple of Derwent visible above the waterline in drought years when the water level drops sufficiently. The reservoir shoreline walking and cycling provide excellent access to the surrounding Dark Peak moorland.