I've walked along that path several times and not seen the hut or the tunnel - shows me how observant I am. 😉 I'll have to look out for it next time I'm in the area.
I know we can't live without water, but it always makes me sad when I see the old photos of what was once there. The people that lived there, their way of life, so very different to today. Just seeing that old dry stone wall, i cannot help but think of the person that spent weeks building it. And the gate sized gap at the end of it, where a shepherd would of once driven his sheep through. When it comes to places that make me think of the past, I don't think anything beats seeing a man made reservoir when the water is so low that it starts to reveal the past. I have totally loved this series of videos, just so very interesting.
That's exactly what i was thinking . To see the lovely farmhoues with the cart in the barn, and to realise that it was lost to water forever is sad, even though , like yourself I know we need reservoirs.
100% with you. Had my head ''bit off'' on a previous video when I said something similar. What happened to the families that lived in the village? Scattered like a dandelion clock in the wind to different areas?
There is a picture of Ashopton showing two elderly gentlemen deep in conversation. In the background, looming over everything, is the new Ashopton viaduct under construction. I have often wondered what was going through their minds, probably born at Ashopton and lived their whole lives there.
The scenery is beautiful, brilliant drone footage, as soon as you said you were going through the tunnel,I thought it maybe soft mud,and then you said it😃
A lot of your mysteries in this video have been researched and documented by local history groups for several years. The tunnel in Win Hill runs through to Edale. It allows water to be taken from the dam on the Noe below Netherbooth Farm. The tunnel was hand dug by Irish navvies, at lest one of whom married and settled down locally as I knew him for several years. This may have been a compromise as the original plan was for another dam in Edale. For the Edale dam the water company went as far as buying the land and properties before discovering the geology was completely unsuitable - water would have leached through the horizontal strata of the Lose Hill - Back Tor - Mam Tor ridge.
My great uncle (by marriage) Aaron Thorpe lived at Coxbridge farm, Ashopton. They where moved in 1936 to Ashbourne by railway. However early WW2 part of their farm was commandeered by the RAF for an airfield. The Howden railway was standard gauge. However there railway workings for Ladybower where narrow gauge. One project would be to duplicate the outlet pipes from Derwent reservoir to above the proposed water level of Ladybower so they could cross over in Ashopton viaduct. Photos show only mature trees at the time of the building of Ladybower on the edge of the extensive fields system. Most of the current timber stock in the area is from after the building of the reservoirs I think your small building was a connection to the original pipelines from Derwent. If you closed the main flow valve in the main pipe you need somewhere for the shockwaves to go or you damage the pipe. So this is a safety valve system and overflow channel. The tunnel probably links to the 'upper' pipeline for the same purpose.
Yes, that is definitely a conduit of some sort, probably connecting to other water works in the area. Would be worth further exploration. As for the narrow gauge track exploiting the timber growing there, I think that's unlikely - they would have to use properly seasoned timber for construction, not 'green' stuff.
The stone hut looks like an old gauging station to record water levels. There appears to be a connection between the canal and the vertical pipe inside the hut. This pipe would have a float that was connected to some sort of mechanical recording device. As water levels rose and fell in the canal, the float would cause a scribe to mark the changing levels. All the machinery is long gone.
thanks for another interesting and beautiful video with the usual gorgeous music. the last thirty seconds or so of music and visuals brought a tear to my eye.
Ant this has to be one of my favourite YT videos ever. Don’t let it go to your head 😀 your historical narration is second to none and the video work is brilliant. I also appreciate you responding to comments. If my history teacher showed me this 40 years ago I would have taken a different direction in life. I was in the era where all you heard was Marie Antoinette!
This is absolutely amazing. I'm actually hooked by this. I'm viewing out of order, but you are so thorough in your commentary that it doesn't matter. Every episode is its own mini film. I'm just stunned by your enthusiasm and energy. Thank you so much for this upload. Amazing.
Really enjoyed your videos on this part of the UK, I have travelled that road often and taken tours to the reservoir as a coach driver, but really interested in the History. I look forward to further episodes in 2023 when you re visit. Its a shame Ashopton will never be uncovered like Derwent. Thank you so much for the way you have done these, so easy to watch and absorbing and full of information!
The tunnel is the outlet from the Limestone scheme to bring water from Bradwell Brook and Peakshole water near Castleton into Ladybower. The tunnel is 1900 yards long under Win Hill. I imagine the old rails are connected to the construction of this tunnel
www.st-reunited.org.uk/STW-History/PDF_Leaflets/dvwb-booklet-and-map/THE-DERWENT-VALLEY%28typed%29.pdf Mentioned here. Are there two feeder tunnels into Ladybower?
I have loved this series. I used to pass by Ladybower regularly and often wondered about the lost villages and the industrial heritage. We managed to visit them this year but this series has shown us so much more. Thank you so much.
Ant, you’ve nailed it once again. You have the blue print (on how to take your viewers on the journey, tell the story, old / new photographs, before / after, drone footage, music and of course, your infectious enthusiasm for the same things we all love) perfected. Stunning series of videos 👏👏 Just wish I could close my eyes and open them 100 years ago, wandering through the active village saying pleasantries to locals as I observe their way of life.
Realy enjoyed watching these series of The Dams vlogs , thank you. I was 10 in 76 and we holidayed in hope when the dams were low I remember walking over one of those submerged bridges .
Being a proud "Vintage Steam Geek", I have thought of going back to the UK in the early to mid 1900's and ride the rails, I can dream? The water level has really gone up quite a bit. Great drone shots, quality work. Ant, you would be one superb history teacher especially on a school field trip. Next time bring a metal detector to follow the track under the grass. That little hut reminds me of my first apartment when I first moved from home... Hmmm, maybe when you go back with your torch also bring a "angle grinder" for the weld on the gate - - - just kidding...... Thanks for your time and walking and posting.
Another cracking episode Ant. Oh for a time machine! There must be someone who knows what they were. Let's hope they watch this and shed some light on the mystery.
@TrekkingExploration Could that light railway, and the concrete strips be connected to recovering the practice "Bouncing Bombs" the RAF tested out on Ladybower, for the WW2 Dambuster Raids on German dams ?
Just goes to show that if you go exploring, you never know what you may find. You found some crazy things like the track poking out the scenery, the mystery hut and the tunnel( maybe a home to bats?) that you found too. Great explore.
Thank you so much for this wonderful series. I have always loved going to the Derwent Dams and been fascinated with the lost villages. I can't wait to discover what's behind the door.
They hit and tunnel are to do with something which used to be called the limestone scheme. It took water form peak holes water in Castleton and through the tunnel to ladybower it was done to try and change the pH of the water before it got to the water treatment plant but it never really worked so it was decommissioned. The pumping station can still be seen if you walk the back way from hope to Castleton. There is a similar tunnel which takes water from the now in Edale to ladybower but that’s is for filling ladybower rather than changing the pH.
Hi Ant, a very well put together series. The video, stills, old pictures, drone shots and music along with your information makes for real interest. Thank you.
No idea about the hut or the tunnel but your theory about the narrow-gauge railway sounds feasible to me at least. The broad flat area could be the loading yard and the exposed bit of track could have been part of a passing loop. Great explore Ant as always.
Excellent vlog and well documented. The time you have spent sourcing all the history is second to none 6****** loved the railway part of this. Have seen a lot of yr vlogs the standards are really high. Keep them coming. Can't wait for the next one.
That tunnel behind the locked gate has bugged me for years. I walk around there every now and again and always stop to ponder as to what it’s purpose was for. The next time your up that way there’s another tunnel on the opposite side of the reservoir that takes water from the Derwent reservoir to Riverlin reservoir. It’s fed from the two pipelines you see coming away from the Derwent reservoir. It was constructed between 1903 and 1909 to take 10 million gallons per day to Sheffield. The entrance is behind a stone building by the ladybower fisheries on the A6013.
Thanks for another cracking vlog very interesting story and well put together very good way of fading old and new with just the right amount of information
Hi Ant. Your ability to solve a couple of mysteries always seems to lead to just more and more questions. Reminds me a bit of Murder She Wrote because everywhere she went another mystery. Do we therefore have potential for History He Hunted? Great video Ant. Keep 'em coming. Cheers, Bob
A brilliant video and well put across - filmed and narrated,.. well done,... // Re. the tunnel, a few further comments suggest a water inlet from a 'Limestone scheme' which is interesting.. I have always been fascinated by this area of reservoirs, the lost villages - and 'Tintown' and marvel at the pure graft that went into these schemes - the building of the dams - the 'Plugholes' - and also the sheer skill that went into the 4.5 mile long tunnel which takes water from Ladybower to Rivelin dams - an area that I know well. ... A really good series - Cheers'' keep them coming.
I think that is the outflow of the limestone scheme aquaduct the river noe outflow is further up towards where the river ashop flows into the reservoir.The limestone scheme was the derwent valley water boards system where it was pumped from weirs at castleton and bradwell.
Superbly illustrated piece of detective work which unearths further puzzles - hopefully for further investigation. Your explanation of the railway track and its proximity to woodland and the former viaduct construction site seems highly likely to me. I wonder if there are remains of any buildings where the timber was processed before transportation. The timber framed railway viaduct appears to have required quite a lot of timber of various shapes and sizes. i also wonder if the small stone hut and conduit/tunnel was some form of sluice mechanism used for industrial purposes before the reservoir was constructed - a small mill perhaps? A great find, and I hope, the subject for another one of your fantastic video's.
There is a concrete structure in a field with a manhole cover on it just south of Twitchill Farm around grid reference SK 175 844 at about 720 feet above sea level. This is the access point to the other end of the tunnel that goes under Win Hill to the "secret" door. The secret door is at around 680 feet above sea level and I believe that in the past, water has been pumped into the tunnel from the River Noe, and the water then goes via the tunnel to Ladybower reservoir and exits into the reservoir at the secret door. The tunnel is oval shaped internally and just under 6 feet in height. The manhole cover used to be insecure, and the secret door used to be insecure, but they have now been padlocked and welded etc.
More obvious waterworks just to the west, immediately north of The Homestead. And the shallow aquduct can be traced in places around the hillside from Nether Booth. The dam there is at about 690ft.
Having had another look at the video, I may have an answer to the mystery of the gated tunnel. In the late 50s and early 60s, I went on family walks in the area including several walks to the top of Winhill on the south bank of Ladybower Reservoir. I recall hearing about a Winhill Tunnel which I believe was being built to divert water from the river Noe that runs through Edale. Maybe that is the tunnel you show on your video. As for the narrow gauge railway, this may have been used to access the end of the tunnel that carries water from the River Ashop headwaters further up the valley from Ladybower. That was built at the same time as Derwent as a feeder from the River Ashop. This feeds Derwent Reservoir just behind the dam wall.
In the book below it mentions a tunnel 1100 yards long through the hills between Ashop and Derwent Valleys and a 60cm gauge tramway was used on this work at each end of the tunnel, so it is likely that the railway is associated with the tunnel construction from 1921 to 1930. 0-4-0 side tank built by Baguley used.
Loving that Yankee style wooden trestle bridge. Is that concrete culvert bringing a water supply from another source higher up and the hut might have contained a sluice?? Excellent finds on this one, so much we don't know☹️☹️
A metal detector would help map the railway without disturbing the area. Maybe a delve into the local archives at the library would reveal more about the tunnel. Was it a mine? For a mineral ore? Possibly
Suggest the slipway would more likely be a concrete sided culvert as it lines up with the little bridge, possibly put in to correct a stream that was causing some erosion?
Can't find enough superlatives to descibe this set of 6 videos. The drone footage itself is stunning. I have had a great interest in this area ever since I read a book entitled 'Silent Valley' decades ago, the images in there are good but you have managed to unearth many more that give us an idea of what life was like in these two villages before the flood. Some of the footage in the later videos have made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Especially the footage of cellars in Derwent Hall. Did you produce these types of videos in a professional capacity or are all your efforts self taught. The standard is equal to anything you find on the main stream media. Just a thought, would the freshly cut timber be suitable to construct a viaduct of that complexity? Would they not have to have used seasoned timber?
Hi Reg, i am so pleased you have been enjoying these. I feel there is still more to go back for. I have created these by myself and just learn and develope what i do over time. I always feel there is a way to better them too :)
@@TrekkingExploration I'll look forward to viewing them. I'm currently looking at your videos around Arkwright Town. I'm also interested in old railway lines and have done a fair bit of walking and cycling long them. I live quite close by so will perhaps retrace your steps when the better weather comes.
Superb video Ant. Reminds me of my hikes in and around that area, parking at Fairholmes and climbing up onto Derwent Edge on the eastern side of the dams. Apologies if this has been mentioned, but there are two books written by Vic Hallam, 'Silent Valley Revisited' and 'Silent Valley At War.' Excellent reads with plenty of historical detail including the activities of the RAF during WW2. Keep up the good work!
The track around @19.00 is portable "Decauville" track, commonly used for temporary lines for mineral extraction and construction. it was heavily used on the western front (and elsewhere) in WW1 and after the war, lots was used by all sorts of contractors in building and so on. Various narrow gauge museums in the UK have examples of it, most notably the Amberley chalk pits museum in Sussex.
Fascinating as always Ant. Perhaps the clearing in the trees was the site of a sawmill to prepare timber for use on the railway viaduct and for scaffolding on the road viaduct
Probably this is the exit tunnel from the DVWB limestone sceme, water pumped from Bradwell Brook and Peaks hole water via the folly art Bradwell. The building would have housed a flow gauge.
Great video, it's many years since I last went walking around the reservoir. Could that little stone building have been a water pumping house, or to house a generator, air pump, or hydraulic pump for powering tools ? Just going by what appears to be cables or pipes down in the hollow floor. All things you would need for tunnelling, flood water removal, and ventilation. As to the concrete strips, they look like it could be a leat, a man made channel to direct water to and from a waterwheel or mill etc. The other possibility is some sort of slipway l, used to recover items, or launch a boat to recover items when the WW2 Dambuster Raids were being practiced on Ladybower.
Looks mine related to me them metal rods by the track are drill bits used in mining and narrow gauge track with a tunnel did they mine the stone for the viaduct from on site
I swear ive seen/heard you on a tele program .. like Time Team or something ... More youre voice than face, am i wrong ? Anyways ... very interesting video mate . Well done . Cheers.
About the tunnel under Win Hill. Quite a few years ago this was walked-through by my friends, the then local GP, Dave Moseley and Sir Alan Yates. They are still around (just). It would be interesting to contact them and to hear about their adventure.
Apparently one of the gang from Dark Peak (Fell Runners), had access to a key. No doubt Alan could shed light on the adventure. They promised to take a gang through several years back, but it never happened for one reason or another.
The track is exactly the same as track in my Local woods that was used to transport emergency timber for temporary housing needed due to bombing in WW2.
Well worth a visit is the old underground reservoir at Papplewick - a fantastic vaulted roof, a bit eerie but it's the most amazing place. I'm not sure whether they only have visits to it on special occasions though - it was a Forties weekend when we went.
@@TrekkingExploration it would be in the Vale of Edale or the hope Valley I would say. There is a mention of a river diversion in the book walls across the valley.
I've walked along that path several times and not seen the hut or the tunnel - shows me how observant I am. 😉 I'll have to look out for it next time I'm in the area.
I know we can't live without water, but it always makes me sad when I see the old photos of what was once there. The people that lived there, their way of life, so very different to today. Just seeing that old dry stone wall, i cannot help but think of the person that spent weeks building it. And the gate sized gap at the end of it, where a shepherd would of once driven his sheep through. When it comes to places that make me think of the past, I don't think anything beats seeing a man made reservoir when the water is so low that it starts to reveal the past. I have totally loved this series of videos, just so very interesting.
I was thinking the same, people lived there, grew up there, had a community, yet all now flooded,
That's exactly what i was thinking . To see the lovely farmhoues with the cart in the barn, and to realise that it was lost to water forever is sad, even though , like yourself I know we need reservoirs.
100% with you. Had my head ''bit off'' on a previous video when I said something similar. What happened to the families that lived in the village? Scattered like a dandelion clock in the wind to different areas?
There is a picture of Ashopton showing two elderly gentlemen deep in conversation.
In the background, looming over everything, is the new Ashopton viaduct under construction.
I have often wondered what was going through their minds, probably born at Ashopton and lived their whole lives there.
Agree with your sentiment, but how many small communities have we destroyed with drowning in new housing?
The scenery is beautiful, brilliant drone footage, as soon as you said you were going through the tunnel,I thought it maybe soft mud,and then you said it😃
A lot of your mysteries in this video have been researched and documented by local history groups for several years. The tunnel in Win Hill runs through to Edale. It allows water to be taken from the dam on the Noe below Netherbooth Farm. The tunnel was hand dug by Irish navvies, at lest one of whom married and settled down locally as I knew him for several years. This may have been a compromise as the original plan was for another dam in Edale. For the Edale dam the water company went as far as buying the land and properties before discovering the geology was completely unsuitable - water would have leached through the horizontal strata of the Lose Hill - Back Tor - Mam Tor ridge.
Great video Ant, that track is more of that jubilee track you found on Overstrand beach
My great uncle (by marriage) Aaron Thorpe lived at Coxbridge farm, Ashopton. They where moved in 1936 to Ashbourne by railway. However early WW2 part of their farm was commandeered by the RAF for an airfield. The Howden railway was standard gauge. However there railway workings for Ladybower where narrow gauge. One project would be to duplicate the outlet pipes from Derwent reservoir to above the proposed water level of Ladybower so they could cross over in Ashopton viaduct. Photos show only mature trees at the time of the building of Ladybower on the edge of the extensive fields system. Most of the current timber stock in the area is from after the building of the reservoirs I think your small building was a connection to the original pipelines from Derwent. If you closed the main flow valve in the main pipe you need somewhere for the shockwaves to go or you damage the pipe. So this is a safety valve system and overflow channel. The tunnel probably links to the 'upper' pipeline for the same purpose.
Yes, that is definitely a conduit of some sort, probably connecting to other water works in the area. Would be worth further exploration. As for the narrow gauge track exploiting the timber growing there, I think that's unlikely - they would have to use properly seasoned timber for construction, not 'green' stuff.
I just love the music you choose for your videos, it spendidly captures the drama of the place.
Thank you so very much Howard 🙂🙂
+1
The stone hut looks like an old gauging station to record water levels. There appears to be a connection between the canal and the vertical pipe inside the hut. This pipe would have a float that was connected to some sort of mechanical recording device. As water levels rose and fell in the canal, the float would cause a scribe to mark the changing levels. All the machinery is long gone.
Loved this. So interesting and revealing.
So pleased you enjoyed it thank you
thanks for another interesting and beautiful video with the usual gorgeous music. the last thirty seconds or so of music and visuals brought a tear to my eye.
Thanks so very much :)
Ant this has to be one of my favourite YT videos ever. Don’t let it go to your head 😀 your historical narration is second to none and the video work is brilliant. I also appreciate you responding to comments. If my history teacher showed me this 40 years ago I would have taken a different direction in life. I was in the era where all you heard was Marie Antoinette!
Your enthusiasm makes watching your videos enjoyable. Looking forward to the next one.
Subbed. Fascinating content. 110% enjoyed this. Love the enthusiasm, thank you for putting this out there.
This is absolutely amazing. I'm actually hooked by this. I'm viewing out of order, but you are so thorough in your commentary that it doesn't matter. Every episode is its own mini film. I'm just stunned by your enthusiasm and energy. Thank you so much for this upload. Amazing.
Really enjoyed your videos on this part of the UK, I have travelled that road often and taken tours to the reservoir as a coach driver, but really interested in the History. I look forward to further episodes in 2023 when you re visit. Its a shame Ashopton will never be uncovered like Derwent. Thank you so much for the way you have done these, so easy to watch and absorbing and full of information!
The tunnel is the outlet from the Limestone scheme to bring water from Bradwell Brook and Peakshole water near Castleton into Ladybower. The tunnel is 1900 yards long under Win Hill.
I imagine the old rails are connected to the construction of this tunnel
That's my guess aswell.
www.st-reunited.org.uk/STW-History/PDF_Leaflets/dvwb-booklet-and-map/THE-DERWENT-VALLEY%28typed%29.pdf Mentioned here. Are there two feeder tunnels into Ladybower?
I have loved this series. I used to pass by Ladybower regularly and often wondered about the lost villages and the industrial heritage. We managed to visit them this year but this series has shown us so much more. Thank you so much.
Even MORRRRE treasure.
Thankyou for another amazing film
💖
Thanks very much Bob 🙂🙂
Thank you for the tour today. Looking forward to the next. Cheers Ant. See you on the next! 🇬🇧🙂👍🇺🇸
Thanks very much Martin 🙂
Awesome, thank you. My Great Grandfather drove ‘Kuroki’ (Old Croakey) on the main line 1905-1912. He lived in Bamford.
Ant, you’ve nailed it once again.
You have the blue print (on how to take your viewers on the journey, tell the story, old / new photographs, before / after, drone footage, music and of course, your infectious enthusiasm for the same things we all love) perfected.
Stunning series of videos 👏👏
Just wish I could close my eyes and open them 100 years ago, wandering through the active village saying pleasantries to locals as I observe their way of life.
Some beautiful buildings lost.
Your enthusiasm really makes your videos enjoyable
Thanks very much Charles 🙂🙂
great work ant.many thanks.
Thanks very much John
Greetings from Virginia, USA. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your video series. Well done!
Thx as always Ant. I echo the comments below + a great music score which sooo captures the vibe. Look fwd to more explores.
Thanks very much :)
Realy enjoyed watching these series of The Dams vlogs , thank you. I was 10 in 76 and we holidayed in hope when the dams were low I remember walking over one of those submerged bridges .
I bet that was amazing :)
Being a proud "Vintage Steam Geek", I have thought of going back to the UK in the early to mid 1900's and ride the rails, I can dream? The water level has really gone up quite a bit. Great drone shots, quality work. Ant, you would be one superb history teacher especially on a school field trip. Next time bring a metal detector to follow the track under the grass. That little hut reminds me of my first apartment when I first moved from home... Hmmm, maybe when you go back with your torch also bring a "angle grinder" for the weld on the gate - - - just kidding...... Thanks for your time and walking and posting.
Another brilliant one mate!!👏👏
Thank you very much 🙂
Very interesting. Love the music.
Glad you enjoyed it David
That was an outstanding explore. Music , filming, narration brilliant. Well done Ant. The before and after photos very nostalgic. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it Shirley
Another cracking episode Ant. Oh for a time machine! There must be someone who knows what they were. Let's hope they watch this and shed some light on the mystery.
Since making this last month i believe I've solved the tunnel mystery however the railway no further information
@@TrekkingExploration Excellent news. Look forward to hearing all about it at some point.
@TrekkingExploration Could that light railway, and the concrete strips be connected to recovering the practice "Bouncing Bombs" the RAF tested out on Ladybower, for the WW2 Dambuster Raids on German dams ?
Just goes to show that if you go exploring, you never know what you may find. You found some crazy things like the track poking out the scenery, the mystery hut and the tunnel( maybe a home to bats?) that you found too. Great explore.
Thanks very much Andrew. I'm working on potentially solving the tunnel mystery hopefully
@@TrekkingExploration who's Silvia?!
Thank you so much for this wonderful series. I have always loved going to the Derwent Dams and been fascinated with the lost villages. I can't wait to discover what's behind the door.
Thnakyou so much. I'm working on the doorway history slowly :)
They hit and tunnel are to do with something which used to be called the limestone scheme. It took water form peak holes water in Castleton and through the tunnel to ladybower it was done to try and change the pH of the water before it got to the water treatment plant but it never really worked so it was decommissioned. The pumping station can still be seen if you walk the back way from hope to Castleton. There is a similar tunnel which takes water from the now in Edale to ladybower but that’s is for filling ladybower rather than changing the pH.
Hi Ant, a very well put together series. The video, stills, old pictures, drone shots and music along with your information makes for real interest. Thank you.
Another brilliant video 👍
Thankyou Brian
No idea about the hut or the tunnel but your theory about the narrow-gauge railway sounds feasible to me at least. The broad flat area could be the loading yard and the exposed bit of track could have been part of a passing loop. Great explore Ant as always.
Similar tracks were used during WW1 on battlefields. They could be laid and lifted very quickly.
Another cracking vlog Ant,so interesting and informative.
Brilliant 👍
Thanks very much Graham 🙂🙂
More great views of this amazing reservoir area. Be interesting to know what that little hut was for and that water channel too. 🙂👍🏻
...And dont forget a spade or trowel to see where that track goes to. These get better and better every time young man. Very enjoyable.
Thanks so very much Tim
Or easier with a metal detector.
@@xboxcrazee Thats true.
Excellent vlog and well documented. The time you have spent sourcing all the history is second to none 6****** loved the railway part of this. Have seen a lot of yr vlogs the standards are really high. Keep them coming. Can't wait for the next one.
That tunnel behind the locked gate has bugged me for years. I walk around there every now and again and always stop to ponder as to what it’s purpose was for.
The next time your up that way there’s another tunnel on the opposite side of the reservoir that takes water from the Derwent reservoir to Riverlin reservoir. It’s fed from the two pipelines you see coming away from the Derwent reservoir. It was constructed between 1903 and 1909 to take 10 million gallons per day to Sheffield. The entrance is behind a stone building by the ladybower fisheries on the A6013.
Brilliant production, loved it.
Thanks very much 🙂
Great video again as usual.
Thanks very much Adam
Great explore Vlog Ant all the very best to you and Amy have a great Christmas
Very interesting ..well done .
Thanks for another cracking vlog very interesting story and well put together very good way of fading old and new with just the right amount of information
Glad you enjoyed it David Thankyou
Really interesting yet again. I always find time to watch your videos even if it is weeks later. Great work. 👍
Hi Ant. Your ability to solve a couple of mysteries always seems to lead to just more and more questions. Reminds me a bit of Murder She Wrote because everywhere she went another mystery. Do we therefore have potential for History He Hunted?
Great video Ant. Keep 'em coming. Cheers, Bob
A brilliant video and well put across - filmed and narrated,.. well done,... // Re. the tunnel, a few further comments suggest a water inlet from a 'Limestone scheme' which is interesting.. I have always been fascinated by this area of reservoirs, the lost villages - and 'Tintown' and marvel at the pure graft that went into these schemes - the building of the dams - the 'Plugholes' - and also the sheer skill that went into the 4.5 mile long tunnel which takes water from Ladybower to Rivelin dams - an area that I know well.
... A really good series - Cheers'' keep them coming.
Thank you for doing these films.
Thankyou for watching Ian
Superb presentation.
The two "rods" you saw by the railway track looked like pneumatic drill chisel bits to me. Very interesting video Ant.
Another brilliant video Ant! You put them together so well! 😊😊
Thanks so very much Leanne 🙂
Interesting video..Good capture.
I've took pictures inside the hut lat yearvery fascinated, the tunnel I want to see inside, great video thànk you
that wooden trestle bridge wow what a sight that musta been
That little area has been through so many transformations
Brilliant
Thank you
Thanks, I enjoyed this one a lot. Bringing the real location together with historic pictures and wonderful atmospheric music impressed me :-)
Thank you very much Thomas much appreciated and very kind
Thanks for that video Ant
Thankyou Michael :)
Brilliant!!! I’m going to have another trip out there to see this, look forward to see if anyone come up with what this could have been.
Thanks very much for watching
The good thing is neither the railway or doorway will get submerged
@@TrekkingExploration no problem, your videos are well put together and very informative, I really enjoy watching them, keep em coming!
@@Experimental-DW thanks very much 🙂
A brilliant series of videos but what is the beautiful music that accompanies the videos. Really brilliant complement to them.
Another really interesting video. If I had a metal detector, I'd be returning there to hopefully follow the path of the narrow gauge railway.
great video, very interesting.I love how you overlay the maps and satellite pictures
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it :)
hi those rods at 18.00 are broken rock drills which were often hammered into ground for anchors. great finds thanks for sharing.
Que lugar lindo
I think that is the outflow of the limestone scheme aquaduct the river noe outflow is further up towards where the river ashop flows into the reservoir.The limestone scheme was the derwent valley water boards system where it was pumped from weirs at castleton and bradwell.
Superbly illustrated piece of detective work which unearths further puzzles - hopefully for further investigation. Your explanation of the railway track and its proximity to woodland and the former viaduct construction site seems highly likely to me. I wonder if there are remains of any buildings where the timber was processed before transportation. The timber framed railway viaduct appears to have required quite a lot of timber of various shapes and sizes. i also wonder if the small stone hut and conduit/tunnel was some form of sluice mechanism used for industrial purposes before the reservoir was constructed - a small mill perhaps? A great find, and I hope, the subject for another one of your fantastic video's.
There is a concrete structure in a field with a manhole cover on it just south of Twitchill Farm around grid reference SK 175 844 at about 720 feet above sea level. This is the access point to the other end of the tunnel that goes under Win Hill to the "secret" door. The secret door is at around 680 feet above sea level and I believe that in the past, water has been pumped into the tunnel from the River Noe, and the water then goes via the tunnel to Ladybower reservoir and exits into the reservoir at the secret door. The tunnel is oval shaped internally and just under 6 feet in height. The manhole cover used to be insecure, and the secret door used to be insecure, but they have now been padlocked and welded etc.
How do you find out information like this??
More obvious waterworks just to the west, immediately north of The Homestead. And the shallow aquduct can be traced in places around the hillside from Nether Booth. The dam there is at about 690ft.
Having had another look at the video, I may have an answer to the mystery of the gated tunnel. In the late 50s and early 60s, I went on family walks in the area including several walks to the top of Winhill on the south bank of Ladybower Reservoir. I recall hearing about a Winhill Tunnel which I believe was being built to divert water from the river Noe that runs through Edale. Maybe that is the tunnel you show on your video.
As for the narrow gauge railway, this may have been used to access the end of the tunnel that carries water from the River Ashop headwaters further up the valley from Ladybower. That was built at the same time as Derwent as a feeder from the River Ashop. This feeds Derwent Reservoir just behind the dam wall.
In the book below it mentions a tunnel 1100 yards long through the hills between Ashop and Derwent Valleys and a 60cm gauge tramway was used on this work at each end of the tunnel, so it is likely that the railway is associated with the tunnel construction from 1921 to 1930. 0-4-0 side tank built by Baguley used.
That is really useful information. I feel there is more to be discovered around here
Wonderful villages and if only we could transport the villages further up the hillside
Loving that Yankee style wooden trestle bridge. Is that concrete culvert bringing a water supply from another source higher up and the hut might have contained a sluice?? Excellent finds on this one, so much we don't know☹️☹️
I believe so. I'm looking into it :)
A metal detector would help map the railway without disturbing the area. Maybe a delve into the local archives at the library would reveal more about the tunnel. Was it a mine? For a mineral ore? Possibly
Nice video. Loved the music.
Glad you enjoyed it thank you
Many thanks Ant, another wonderful episode. The fallen stone walls may well show on the older maps, I see the fields are marked out.
Thankyou very much Christine :)
Suggest the slipway would more likely be a concrete sided culvert as it lines up with the little bridge, possibly put in to correct a stream that was causing some erosion?
Can't find enough superlatives to descibe this set of 6 videos. The drone footage itself is stunning. I have had a great interest in this area ever since I read a book entitled 'Silent Valley' decades ago, the images in there are good but you have managed to unearth many more that give us an idea of what life was like in these two villages before the flood. Some of the footage in the later videos have made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Especially the footage of cellars in Derwent Hall.
Did you produce these types of videos in a professional capacity or are all your efforts self taught. The standard is equal to anything you find on the main stream media.
Just a thought, would the freshly cut timber be suitable to construct a viaduct of that complexity? Would they not have to have used seasoned timber?
Hi Reg, i am so pleased you have been enjoying these. I feel there is still more to go back for. I have created these by myself and just learn and develope what i do over time. I always feel there is a way to better them too :)
@@TrekkingExploration I'll look forward to viewing them. I'm currently looking at your videos around Arkwright Town. I'm also interested in old railway lines and have done a fair bit of walking and cycling long them. I live quite close by so will perhaps retrace your steps when the better weather comes.
Superb video Ant. Reminds me of my hikes in and around that area, parking at Fairholmes and climbing up onto Derwent Edge on the eastern side of the dams. Apologies if this has been mentioned, but there are two books written by Vic Hallam, 'Silent Valley Revisited' and 'Silent Valley At War.' Excellent reads with plenty of historical detail including the activities of the RAF during WW2. Keep up the good work!
Bloody talk about a mini series Ant😂😂👍👍Keep it going plzzzzz
The little stone hut and the tunnel looks typical of water company construction.
It'd be interesting to take a metal detector along that section where the light rail is located to see if you could trace its path
Thanks for bringing this to me. Power to you! (FYI: At 3:55, there is a 'shaft spillway' not a plug hole).
There nicknamed the plug holes. Thanks for watching
The track around @19.00 is portable "Decauville" track, commonly used for temporary lines for mineral extraction and construction. it was heavily used on the western front (and elsewhere) in WW1 and after the war, lots was used by all sorts of contractors in building and so on. Various narrow gauge museums in the UK have examples of it, most notably the Amberley chalk pits museum in Sussex.
Fascinating as always Ant. Perhaps the clearing in the trees was the site of a sawmill to prepare timber for use on the railway viaduct and for scaffolding on the road viaduct
Probably this is the exit tunnel from the DVWB limestone sceme, water pumped from Bradwell Brook and Peaks hole water via the folly art Bradwell. The building would have housed a flow gauge.
I would say the hut was a level monitoring station maybe the planks cover up a well with inlets from the culvert with a meter mounted above
Great video ant :) what's the song used at the start of the video please?
Great video, it's many years since I last went walking around the reservoir. Could that little stone building have been a water pumping house, or to house a generator, air pump, or hydraulic pump for powering tools ? Just going by what appears to be cables or pipes down in the hollow floor. All things you would need for tunnelling, flood water removal, and ventilation. As to the concrete strips, they look like it could be a leat, a man made channel to direct water to and from a waterwheel or mill etc. The other possibility is some sort of slipway l, used to recover items, or launch a boat to recover items when the WW2 Dambuster Raids were being practiced on Ladybower.
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Looks mine related to me them metal rods by the track are drill bits used in mining and narrow gauge track with a tunnel did they mine the stone for the viaduct from on site
Should bring some wooden planks you can lay down on the mud going up to the entrance of the culvert gate!
I swear ive seen/heard you on a tele program .. like Time Team or something ... More youre voice than face, am i wrong ? Anyways ... very interesting video mate . Well done . Cheers.
About the tunnel under Win Hill. Quite a few years ago this was walked-through by my friends, the then local GP, Dave Moseley and Sir Alan Yates. They are still around (just). It would be interesting to contact them and to hear about their adventure.
Apparently one of the gang from Dark Peak (Fell Runners), had access to a key. No doubt Alan could shed light on the adventure. They promised to take a gang through several years back, but it never happened for one reason or another.
I can recommend this book Reservoir Railways of Manchester and the Peak by Harold D Bowtell Oakwood Press
The track is exactly the same as track in my Local woods that was used to transport emergency timber for temporary housing needed due to bombing in WW2.
Any chance of you exploring Paplewick Pumping station.
Well worth a visit is the old underground reservoir at Papplewick - a fantastic vaulted roof, a bit eerie but it's the most amazing place. I'm not sure whether they only have visits to it on special occasions though - it was a Forties weekend when we went.
I shall certainly look into this :)
The building is an old flow meter hut so that’s a feed into the res.
Yes since I did this last month it appears it's part of a river diversion I'm looking into it 👍
I believe that could have been the river noe diversion from the Vale of Edale.
Ohhh so there should be another entrance somewhere
@@TrekkingExploration it would be in the Vale of Edale or the hope Valley I would say. There is a mention of a river diversion in the book walls across the valley.
Get in touch with Paul white wick he is fantastic with old maps and railway history and canals are his specialties