Wessenden Reservoir and Secret Waterfall Walk

It’s funny to think, that the Wessenden Reservoir was an afterthought, but turned out to be in my top three reservoir walks. It might even be number one.

The idea to walk around Wessenden Reservoir came about yesterday, as I had woken up with a horrendous cold, so wanted an easy walk. I first did the more popular Dovestone, just 10 min down the road. That walk is only a few miles, and with Wessenden being so close and on my route home, I had it in my back pocket if I felt I wanted to walk more.

Well, a few miles was enough. I felt rough, and needed to go home to bed. Today I woke up feeling just as unwell, but didn’t want to waste a day (I explain in more detail why, on my Dovestone Reservoir walk guide). So Wessenden seemed like a good idea. Not too long, not too far to get to from home.

Looking down across the moorland valley towards Wessenden Reservoir, part way through the walk.

Looking down into the valley, with a river snaking through the bottom, partway through the Wessenden Reservoir walk. The is a trail visible along the hillside on the other side.

Incase you are wondering, the other two reservoirs in my top three are Scar House, and Grimwith up in Yorkshire.

What I’m going to do in this guide, is first give you an overview of what to expect on the Wessenden Reservoir walk, with logistics, tips, and a map. Then I will go on to describe the route step by step with lots of photos.

What to expect on the Wessenden Reservoir walk

Wessenden is different from the typical reservoir walk in that you don’t have a gentle path all the way around it. It’s also two reservoirs, Wessenden Head and the main Wessenden Reservoir.

Looking down the hillside to the Wessenden Reservoir, with moorland hills rising up on the other side, part way through the walk.

Looking down to a strip of water in a dip in the hills, with a stone wall on the other side.

To walk around, you have two trail options. The narrow rugged winding trail along the side of the hill, and the rugged rocky trail along the bottom. This route takes you out on one trail, then back along the other.

Looking through a dip in the hills, with a rugged, narrow, dirt trail on the side of the hill on the right, and a person walking along it in the distance. — The rugged upper trail

A narrow dirt trail winding along the side of the hill ahead. — The slightly less rugged lower trail

The walk also takes you on an extra loop in the Wessenden Valley, past a series of waterfalls, then one final surprise waterfall.

A waterfall cascading down the ricks into a pool of water, halfway through the Wessenden Reservoir circular walk.

The two reservoirs sit in the bottom of the Wessenden Valley surrounded by moorland hills, and feels a bit like you are walking in a painting. I’m not the only one who thinks this, as there is even a picture frame at the start.

A picture frame, framing the view the grass and moorland hills in the distance, at the start of the Wessenden Reservoir and valley circular walk.

Looking down the hillside towards the Wessenden Reservoir, partway through the walk. there are a few bumpy hills on the reservoir edge.

Is the walk challenging?

I would rate this Wessenden Reservoir walk as easy to moderate. If you are comparing it to the typical reservoir walk, it is on the tougher side of things, but for a countryside hike it’s not too tough.

Looking down to the reservoir at the bottom of the valley.

The terrain is very rugged, and there are a few hills to tackle. The walk is made up of two loops. The first loop, I would recommend doing anticlockwise. This is largely because if the hill. The second loop, I’m undecided. I did it anticlockwise. I will show you why I’m undecided, when I describe the route below.

If you would like something less rugged, then you might like the Ladybower Reservoir walk, further south in the Peak District.

If you like the rugged reservoir walks, but also want to keep things easy, then you might like Dale Dike, and Agden Reservoir. Both are less than a few miles. They are also good ones to do if you want to avoid the crowds. I will be getting guides up for them soon.

Is the Wessenden Reservoir dog friendly?

The Wessenden Reservoir and valley is a dog friendly place to walk. There were a bunch of them about. I didn’t see any livestock, there are no stiles. However, from 1st March to 31st July, dogs must be kept on lead due to ground nesting birds.

A sign saying to keep dogs on a short lead during periods of ground nesting birds.

The only tricky part is halfway through, when you need to walk over rocks over the water.

Parking to walk the Wessenden Reservoir and Valley

There is a place for parking right at the start of the trail. It’s called the Wessenden Head road car park. It’s a side road off the main road, A635. Really it’s just a big lay-by type area with potholes, and it’s free. It’s not huge, so if there are no spaces, then on the main road there are also a bunch of places to park.

Logistics

Start/Finish: Wessenden Head road ‘car park’
Where is it: The Wessenden Reservoir is located in the very north of the Peak District National Park. Post code for the car park is HD9 4EU.
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 1h45min
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
Terrain: Narrow dirt trail, rocks, mud, stones over the water.
Amenities: I’m not 100% sure, but there might be a refreshment kiosk on the main road. I’m not sure exactly what it was, as its back was to the road, but it had big signs on it saying ‘Open’. So I’m assuming it’s some sort of food truck. Don’t quite me on this though. Otherwise, there isn’t anything else about. There is good internet signal.
Time of year: I walked the Wessenden Reservoir in Spring

Map for the Wessenden Reservoir and Valley walk

You can find my more detailed map for the walk route around Wessenden Reservoir on AllTrails

If you would like to explore other walks in the area, then you can read about other Peak District walks here.

A guide to the Wessenden Reservoir and Valley walk

If you stand on the side of the road, looking down at the Wessenden Head Reservoir, you will see the walking path leading down to it. Go ahead and take it, following the sign for the Pennine Way.

Looking across the moorland towards Wessenden Reservoir head, at the start of the circular walk.

A wooden trail signpost saying 'Pennine way', with a trail leading straight ahead. — Follow the blue arrow

Just before you reach the reservoir, you should see a grass trail leading up the hill to the right. You can take either. If you are able, I would take the grass. Some really cool views are to come from up there.

A gravel path leading straight towards the reservoir, lined with grass banks, and two people walking up the grass path to the right.

Grass detour

Up along the grass trail, you will walk passed some ruins, and then you will have a view to the main Wessenden Reservoir ahead in the distance. Keep following the trail as it turns to dirt and then grass again, before leading you back down onto the main path.

Looking down towards the path as it runs through the valleys with a reservoir visible in the distance.

Looking across the rugged grassy ground, with the reservoir visible straight ahead in the distance.

Looking down the grass hill to a path at the bottom which leads up the hill ahead.

The main path

Keep following this main path, which is a little rocky, as it winds you around the hill. You will get a view to the two trails running alongside the hill ahead.

A dirt trail leading straight along the side of the hill, with the Wessenden Reservoir visible head. The reservoir is surround by moorland hills.

Looking towards a big hill side, with a couple of people visible way in the distance, walking along the side of it, with Wessenden Reservoir the bottom of the hill in the distance.

When you reach the junction of the two trails, if you want to keep things easy, stick to the bottom. For this route, take the rugged trail up.

A dirt trail split, with the left trail leading straight and the right one leading right, up the hill. — Take the right trail here

Walk along the rugged hillside trail

Up here, you will be walking along a narrow dirt trail. It’s not challenging, but at some points, it’s very narrow with a steep drop, and will take you into the little hill nooks.

A narrow dirt trail leading straight along the side of the grass hill.

A dirt trail on the right, curving around to the left ahead, in the corner of the hills side. There is a small wooden bridge on the corner.

Looking through a dip in the valley, with the Wessenden Reservoir straight ahead at the bottom, part way through the walk.

A narrow dirt trail along the side of a hill.

After a little bit of hillside winding trail walking, you need to keep an eye out for the way down. It’s basically a steep strip of grass and dirt, which takes you down to the end of the Wessenden Reservoir. If you can see the next reservoir in the distance ahead, you have gone too far.

This is the way down:

Looking down the hill, with the reservoir at the bottom on the left, and a hill rising up on the other side of it.

I actually had to check my map to make sure this was correct. This is the hill you don’t want to be walking up. It’s a lot more aggressive than the photo makes it look.

Walk into the Wessenden Valley

At the bottom, if you want to walk back, the easier trail is there on the left, to take you back alongside the Wessenden Reservoir. I recommend you keep going though, as the best is still to come.

To continue the walk into the valley, follow the main path leading away from the Wessenden Reservoir.

A gravel trail snaking ahead, with a stone wall and wire fence on the right, and underling hill rising up ahead to the left.

The first waterfall is along here. It looks pretty cool, plunging into the pool in the bottom. If it was summer, and I wasn’t feeling rough, I might wander over there for a dip. But today I stuck to the main path.

A waterfall cascading down the rocks, into a pool of water at the bottom, along the circular Wessenden Reservoir walk.

When you reach the Pennine way trail signpost pointing down the hill to the left, follow it.

A wide dirt road winding ahead, with a hill bank on the right, and a downhill on the left.

A wooden trail signpost on a strip of grass next to the road, pointing to the left.

As I made my way down, I suddenly saw what was waiting for me ahead. A very very aggressive uphill.

Looking down into the valley to a stream of watering a wooden bridge crossing. There is a big hill on the other side of the stream.

The hill

I felt a bit like I was being punished for being so joyful that I didn’t have to walk up that hill from earlier.

At the bottom I stood on the bridge and admired the views, delaying the uphill waiting for me.

Looking along the stream of water cutting through the valley, part way through the Wessenden Reservoir walk. The stream is filled with rocks.

A small waterfall cascading down the rocks, in a dip in the hills.

Once I made my way up it, I realised it wasn’t as bad as it looked, and walking up it might have been the better way. Due to the terrain of it, muddy and rocky, I felt a bit safer walking up. Plus, you get a view into the valley nooks with some surprise waterfalls.

Looking through a dip in the hills to a waterfall in the distance straight ahead.

Once you get to the top (or on your way up) make sure to look back at the gorgeous view. I stopped a few times to look (but secretly it was to take break).

Looking down into the valley, with a river snaking through the bottom, partway through the Wessenden Reservoir walk.

At the top at the bunker thing, take the trail to the left. There is a trail to the right, with some steps up the hill in the distance. It looked kind of fun, but I was kind of glad that steps weren’t in my plan today.

A narrow dirt trail leading up, with a bunker at the top of the hill to the left. — Turn left here

Walk to the surprise waterfall

If you thought the waterfalls so far were cool, just wait for what is to come….

You will first walk with a view to Wessenden Reservoir straight ahead, then the trail will curve you to the right and take you deeper along the valley hillside.

A muddy trail through the moorland, with hills visible ahead in the distance.

A dirt trail on the right, with a drop into the valley to the left, and a hill on the other side.

As you near the end, you will see a waterfall. This is the start of it. Keep going and you will reach the main waterfall and pool.

Looking towards a short waterfall with big rocks at the bottom, and rocky hills rising up on either side. There is a dirt trail leading towards the waterfall on the right.

Such a wonderful hidden spot, which would be amazing for taking dips in…in the summer, and without a cold.

Now, to get across, you need to navigate over the stepping rocks. It was pretty easy, but I can’t say what it’s like after heavy rainfall.

Walk back to Wessenden Reservoir

Over the water, follow the trail back along the valley hill, all the way to reach the Wessenden Reservoir.

A dirt trail running along the hillside on the right, with a drop into the valley to the left.

A dirt trail on the right, leading towards a bridge crossing ahead, and the reservoir straight ahead on the other side of the bridge.

At the reservoir, cross over the bridge, and keep going to reach the trail on the other side. This is where you can take the main, easier trail, along the edge of the reservoir.

A rugged stone paved trail leading uphill, with a wooden fence on the right.

It’s simple to follow, first alongside the main reservoir, then through the valley to reach the Wessenden Head Reservoir.

A dirt trial leading straight ahead, with a hill rising up on the left side, and the reservoir just visible to the right, on the other side of the dead orange fern.

A stone paved trail cutting across the hillside ahead. There are a couple of people walking along the trail.

A strip of water cascading down the grassy hill side, with a stone paved trial and wooden fence on the left side.

A wide dirt trail, with a steep grass hill on the left, and wooden fence on the right.

I must say, I was feeling a little underwhelmed on the walk back. Everything I had walked on the way out was amazing. Jaw dropping amazing. This felt bland in comparison. Although, I was glad I had left the easier trail to the end, as my energy levels were wavering. That cold was hitting.

I found the last little bit particularly challenging. In reality it’s not. It’s a steady, gentle uphill. But to me it felt like I was climbing a mountain. I was feeling really really unwell.

Once I got back to my car, I felt like death. Maybe I wasn’t quite well enough to do this walk, but after what I had seen, I was really glad I did.

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Wessenden Reservoir and secret waterfall walk guide.

Wessenden Reservoir and secret waterfall walk guide in the Peak District.