LADYBOWER, DERWENT AND
HOWDEN RESERVOIRS

Ladybower Reservoir

At the head of the Derwent Valley are the three reservoirs, Ladybower, Derwent and Howden. The first of these to be constructed is Howden Reservoir, the highest of the three, built between 1901 and 1912 followed by the Derwent Reservoir which was filled in 1916. The largest of the three reservoirs, Ladybower was started in 1935 but construction was delayed due to the outbreak of World War II but continued due to the need to maintain strategic supplies of water. The construction of Ladybower Reservoir resulted in the drowning of Derwent and Ashoptonvillages which were submerged in 1946 as the reservoir was filled. The droughts of 1976, 1995 and 2018 resulted in Derwent village being exposed when the water levels dropped. In November 2018 a man had to be rescued by Mountain Rescue after getting stuck in the mud around Derwent village.

In 1943 the Derwent Dam became the training ground for 617 Squadron "The Dambusters" as they prepared to bomb the Rhur Dams in Germany's industrial heartland. The Derwent Dam was similar in construction to the German dams. Occasional flypasts by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Lancaster Bomber "City of Lincoln" still take place and in 2014 a never to be repeated flypast took place when the "City of Lincoln" was accompanied "Vera" a Lancaster preserved by the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, took place. They are currently the only two airworthy Lancaster Bombers in the world although another Lancaster "Just Jane" may one day be restored to airworthy condition.

Derwent Dam	Dambusters Memorial	Derwent Reservoir
But Lancaster Bombers are okay!	Howden Reservoir and Dam	Howden Reservoir

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