Ladybower Reservoir - Submerged Village of Derwent Revealed

Today on Run Adventurer we are in the Upper Derwent Valley in Derbyshire just off the Snake Pass at Ladybower Reservoir. We’ve had a long, hot summer but it’s October now and we’ve had a fair bit of rain since then yet I was shocked at just how empty the reservoir is. Ladybower Reservoir was completed in the 1940’s and via an aqueduct that heads south supplies water to Nottingham, Derby and Leicester. We head down to the bridge at Ashopton then loop around to the far end to the submerged village of Derwent and the Derwent Dam and back to the starting point. The loop is just under 6 miles. It was a beautiful autumn morning so follow along with me and we’ll explore it together.

The Route

Following the path around the reservoir anti clockwise, we head down to the snake pass at the bridge at Ashopton, turn left crossing the bridge then take the path left down the other side to the Derwent Dam then back up past the main car park and along the shore line to our starting point.