VBR hope to return to the Peak District in 2027, so here are a couple of shortish walks which have been recced and which we might like to do.
The first is a 6½ mile walk from Fairholmes round the Ladybower Reservoir. Of particular interest were the low water levels after the dry summer which revealed the remains of the drowned village of Ashopton. The second, 8-mile walk starts in Calton Lees and, after a climb past Calton Houses, drops down to Edensor and Chatsworth Park. After a walk up the River Derwent towards Baslow, the route takes us up to Stand Wood behind Chatsworth House, down sharply past the house itself and then back along the river to Calton Lees. A longer (10½ mile) route stays higher up on a path to Beeley Moore and then follows a stream down to Beeley Village.
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| Derwent Dam near Fairholmes |
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| Derwent Resevoir |
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| The location of the drowned village of Ashopton, 2026 |
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| Ashopton, drowned in 1944 |
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| Ashopton Viaduct |
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| View looking east towards Derwent Edge |
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| East Midlands' water supply |
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| Relief valves connected to the aqueduct to prevent damage due to pressure surges |
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| Calton Houses |
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| One of many fine stone houses in the estate village of Edensor |
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| Paine's One Arch Bridge (1760) over the Derwent |
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| Looking up the Derwent |
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| Hunting Tower completed around 1582 for Bess of Hardwick |
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| Water flowing from the end of the Chatsworth Aqueduct used to supply water to the Chatsworth Cascade below - currently being restored |
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| Chatsworth House and the River Derwent |
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| No shortage of water here |
