Peak Bagging – Ladybower Reservoir and Win Hill
The more time I spend in the Peak District, the more I fall in love with it. Today we visited Ladybower Reservoir in the Upper Derwent Valley, famous for it’s plug holes and the stunning surrounding hills such as Bamford Edge and Win Hill.
It was a tough choice between which of the two to tackle, but I decided to trek through the Parkin Clough forest up to Win Hill, passing a ruined farm building hidden deep in the forest.
With views over Ladybower reservoir, across to Mam Tor and a ridge running north west linking it to Kinder Scout, you can see why Win Hill is so popular with hikers.
The Parkin Clough path is a steep and unforgiving ascent straight up from the reservoir, so we were grateful for the much kinder forest trail which is well signposted from the circular reservoir walk.
- Parking: Yorkshire Bridge layby (free but limited)
- Route: Signposted up until the forest trail, but easy to follow from there on. Steep and rocky/muddy in places, especially the Parkin Clough path up to (or down from) Win Hill. Uphill is a tought, steep stepped ascent, or downhill is slippy and should be taken with care! Well worth the effort though.
- Dog friendly? Yes, especially if you don’t mind a bit of mud. Be mindful of grazing livestock around Win Hill. Nesting birds mean dogs should be kept on a lead around the reservoir especially in Spring.
- Photo/video note: Ladybower reservoir is now marked as a ‘No Drones’ area.
DJI Osmo Action 5
Sony A7 IV with Sony Alpha FE G OSS II 70-200mm
Sar Lou Adventures 
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