The Lost Villages of Ashopton & Derwent in the Peak District is the destination – plus a little of The Dam Busters, Monks and Abandoned Farmsteads and some hot chicken soup thrown in for good measure.

The Peak District, as with many other places that are right under your local nose, is full of fascinating history – from recent times to as far back as the end of the last ice age. Apart from the beauty of the place, if you only look twice you can find some great evidence. We are really a bit Johnny come lately aren’t we, when you just stop to think that your very footsteps were walked 10,000 years ago or maybe that pile of rocks you stepped on to tie up your boot laces, were put there to clear a field 4,000 years ago or indeed that prehistoric rock art that was etched 6000 years ago.

One particular place I am interested in is the more recent history of the Upper Derwent and the lost villages of Derwent and Ashopton which were submerged following the construction and flooding to form Ladybower Reservoir in the 1930’s. [Read More…]