Dovestone Reservoir

Friday 13th May 2022

Peak District National Park, Oldham

I made it to Dovestone reservoir! The travel turned out to be not as complicated as I thought. I got a train from Manchester Piccadilly to Greenfield, then walked for roughly an hour until I arrived at my destination. Greenfield was a very pretty little town, I got the impression it was popular with old people.

On the other side of the built up area, I found a forest path with several mysterious trails leading off it, and as I passed through I decided I would explore them on my way back. There was a short but steep incline leading up to the reservoir, and I was greeted with dramatic Peak District views.

I began on a circular walk, and took my time discovering off shoots of the designated route. The sun was in and out, but it stuck around long enough for me to put sun cream on, and it was extremely windy by the water. I caught a beautiful sight of Greenfield from high up, and I found an area called Binn Green. While it was basically just a car park, it was in a perfect position to observe the landscape.

I continued my exploration, and I found another memorial forest! I had previously found one at the Singing Ringing Tree that I mentioned in another post. This memorial forest was a lot larger and denser, and felt like a very peaceful place to visit.

I had some lunch while sitting by the water, and some ducks and other birds became very interested in me! I googled what I could feed them, and started with some dried apricots. When I realised that they were struggling with the stickiness, I gave them some banana which went down a treat. I also spotted what I believed to be a pheasant, and got it on video.

After that I decided to call it a day, as it would be a long journey back on foot all the way to the train station. As I returned on the forest path I took a few little detours, bumping into a very curious lamb in a field, and risking a very dodgy bridge crossing. It was an extremely enjoyable trip that I’d been looking forward to for a few weeks now, and it was lovely to see so much wildlife.

Dovestone reservoir is owned by United Utilities, and was built in the 1960s. It is a source of water for the surrounding areas, and is a popular recreational beauty spot. What I found really intriguing was Fletchers mill which I passed on my way to the reservoir. There were originally two mills in the area, Greenfield and Stoneclough. It’s unclear which one came first, but the second mill opened in 1921, and produced cigarette and tissue paper. In 2001, workers were told to go home one day, never to return. This resulted in the state of the mill being left exactly as it was. Because it has been ‘frozen in time’, Fletchers mill attracts keen Urbex enthusiasts, people who explore abandoned urban structures as a hobby.

As always, links below!