Simon Wheatley

Looking down a steep moorland valley to a reservoir and a dam with a stepped stone spillway.

Deer Hill and Butterley Reservoir

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by

simonwheatley
in

A great walk up from Marsden over Holme Moor, along Deer Hill Conduit. I avoided the suggested diversion over to Deer Hill Reservoir, as it’s flat and a I find it a bit dull. The walk round Black Edge, looking down onto the reservoirs strung along Wessenden Book though has some stunning views.

I really enjoy the walks around Marsden at the moment. It’s easy to get to, just 30 minutes from Manchester, and there’s a great selection of pubs for the vital after-walk pint.

This route took me 10.1km (about 6.3 miles) in 2 hours and 49 minutes, with about 415m ascent in all.

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Along the way

A leaf-strewn lane through a tunnel of overhanging trees.
Photo 1
A stone farmhouse among trees, with green fields and moorland on the hillside beyond.
Photo 2
Drink local. A hand dipping a cup into clear, peat-brown water beside a rock (I ran it through a filter later).
Photo 3
Two weathered gritstone outcrops framing a patch of blue sky.
Photo 4
A grassy track running beside the Deer Hill Conduitacross golden moorland.
Photo 5
A sheep looking straight at the camera, with a stone farmhouse and moorland behind.
Photo 6
A National Trust sign for Marsden Moor and Holme Moor, seen through a metal gate.
Photo 7
A rutted grassy track heading across the moor under big white clouds.
Photo 8
A long, weathered gritstone bridge over Deer Hill Conduit, with stones jutting out of it as steps.
Photo 9
Looking down a steep moorland valley to a Butterley Reservoir and dam with a stepped stone spillway.
Photo 10
A walled path dropping steeply into a green valley, with Butterley Reservoir glinting in the distance.
Photo 11
A gnarled, windswept tree beside a grassy path in a moorland clough.
Photo 12
Sunlight and cloud over a wooded valley leading down to a reservoir.
Photo 13
A lichen-covered stone arch through a bridge a small stream, framed by long grass.
Photo 14
Fields and moorland seen through a gap in a ruined stone wall, with a fallen slab in the foreground.
Photo 15
A recess under a large stone lintel in a ruined building, overgrown with ferns and grass.
Photo 16
A small sign reading “It could happen therefore it did. November 2017” on a post above a bracken-covered valley and stream.
Photo 17
Tilted stone slabs among brown bracken on a steep, wooded valley side.
Photo 18
A memorial plaque on a bench, quoting Wainwright: “Always there will be the Exhilaration of the Summits”.
Photo 19
A quiet lane lined with trees just starting to turn yellow.
Photo 20
A wooden gate between stone gateposts, looking down the valley towards a reservoir spillway.
Photo 21
A pint of Salt Alpaca Lypse session IPA and a packet of Scampi Fries on a pub table.
Photo 22

Data sources: © OpenStreetMap contributors. Listed building data © Historic England 2026, under the Open Government Licence; contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

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