Logo
Home

The City of
Chester

Historic Buildings
Castles and
Stately Homes

Gardens
Visitor Attractions
Landscape
Villages and
Towns

Prehistoric Sites

Map & satellite


Dovestone Reservoir


OS Grid ref:- SE013034

Dovestone Reservoir near Greenfield lies on the edge of the the Peak District National Park and is often described as the northern gateway to the national park.

The reservoir was constructed in 1967 to supply water to the outskirts of Manchester.The proposed construction received a lot of opposition from the local mill owners who claimed the damming of the river would cut off their water supply. As a result of this, a tunnel was built higher up in the hillside to bypass the reservoir. It acquired its name from a collection of stones on the skyline that look like a dove. The "Life for a Life" Memorial Forest, by the reservoir was begun in 1999, the plantation allows people to pay to have a tree planted in the name of a loved one. Currently over 700 trees have been planted.

The Dove Stone valley is surrounded by wild, bleak moorland and high outcrops of rock providing panoramic views of the southern Pennine Hills. Most of the older woodland is a variety of spruce and pine, but more recently several broad leaf species have been included in the plantations to help provide a habitat for a larger range of wildlife.

The reservoir has a sailing club; a permanent orienteering course, an extensive network of footpaths and good links to areas of open access moorland. The circular path around the reservoir is well maintained, gravelled and relatively flat.

The site is managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in partnership with Oldham Council, United Utilities and the Peak District National Park.

Back to Landscape