Bamford to Ladybower Reservoir

I spent yesterday (Sunday, 24 April 2016) with a colleague and his wife hiking in the Derbyshire part of the Peak District.  We took a short train ride from Sheffield to Bamford, which is a small village with a population around a thousand.  We crossed River Derwent just west of Bamford using stepping stones and footbridges (click on the image for a larger view).

We then proceeded north toward the Ladybower Reservoir in the Upper Derwent Valley.  Once at the Ladybower Dam, I took a photo of the massive overflow just inside the reservoir (click on the image for a larger view).

Reservoirs are great examples of the application of potential energy.  It takes energy to raise water to a certain height, and much of that energy may be retrieved by allowing the water to fall.  As we walked along the eastern edge of the reservoir, I got a sense of just how large the body of water is.  I took the photo below from the eastern edge of Ladybower Reservoir as I looked across to the Ashopton Viaduct, which carries Snake Road or the A57 (click on the image for a larger view).

As you can tell from the above photo, we didn't have the greatest weather on our hike.  But one must get used to cloudy skies and rain if one is to enjoy hiking in England!  After walking awhile, I needed a break (click on the image for a larger view).

I am looking west at beautiful Peak District scenery.  We then headed back toward Ladybower Dam and had a fantastic lunch at The Yorkshire Bridge Inn.  We completed our 10-mi (16-km) hike by climbing New Road towards Bamford Edge and then descending toward Bamford along The Clough.  The latter path was officially closed, but we had a train to catch and braved the steep decent.  It wasn't so bad!

The high temperature in Sheffield this week looks to be around 9 C (48.2 F).  Rain is expected next weekend, so we may take a weekend off from hiking.