Day Out To Upper Derwent Valley : 28th July 2011
The Upper Derwent Valley is an area of the Peak District National Park and within it are various sites including Ladybower Reservoir, Derwent Reservoir and Howden Reservoir and their associated dams. From the visitor centre (on weekdays only) you can drive all the way up to “Kings Tree” where there is parking. From there we walked up past the “Slippery Stones” and onto the edge of Howden Moor on the path that runs above the River Derwent. This is a really good walk with the river in a valley on the one side and the moorland rising up on the other. We saw two Red Grouse walking along the path before they scuttled off into the heather. This is usually a reaaly good place for raptors but this time we only saw a solitary Buzzard. The whole area is full of Meadow Pipits, Stonechats and Whinchats.