Moore Hall Reservoir
Here are sets of pictures from my tramps around Moore Hall Reservoir and its environs.
Service road to Moore Hall Reservoir.
View south from the service road across the downstream embankment at the dam head. At the far end of the dam is the cascade for the reservoir's overflow.
View approximately south across the dam head.
View from the footbridge at the south end of the dam (looking approximately north east), above the overflow channel. The buildings downstream are the reservoir's pumping station.
View of the footbridge and the overflow channel from a viewing platform at the south of the dam.
Unfortunately in pronounced shade, the overflow channel and footbridge looking east.
Within the overflow channel, looking approximately WSW to the footbridge (my brother lurking under the arch).
Cascade at the downstream end of the overflow with a view over the pumping station.
View north from the cascade across the embankment at the dam head.
View approximately NNW across the reservoir.
View east to the dam head. Wharncliffe Lodge is visible on the crags' edge towards the upper right-hand corner of the photo.
A view up the northern bank of the reservoir with a small dairy farm.
Here are some winter views. While the overflow was not so great as it recently had been due to heavy rain, there was still sufficient run-off from high ground to spill over, so the previously dry channel of earlier pictures is distinctly wetter. The winter sun is much lower, too, so that the southern bank is in deep shadow even when the south-facing northern bank is strongly lit.
This last is at the upstream end of Moore Hall reservoir, showing the overflow cascade from the higher Broomhead reservoir running into the lower dam.
Here's a trip back to Moore Hall in February.
A familiar view of the overflow from the East of Moore Hall Reservoir. Despite the wet winter and the constant run-off of surplus water, my brother tells me that—after a dry spring—levels are down in the dams, and caution is being sounded by concerned authorities.
A monochrome, eastern view of Moore Hall Reservoir, levels high.
A closer view of the westward, uphill, Broomhead reservoir. A static body (apart from the seasonal run-off), the surface of the water is an indicator of how blustery was the weather on the day this photograph was taken.
Wind-driven waves breaking at the dam head. The same below.
The overflow cascade from Broomhead Reservoir, falling to the lower Moore Hall Reservoir.
Cascade from Broomhead Reservoir. The same below.
Here are the crags seen from the dam head looking east:
And here's a view of the reservoir towards the north-west, a middle-sized example amongst a fair number here, making the most of the Pennine watershed. With tongue in cheek, this part of the county has recently been dubbed South Yorkshire's "Lake District":
The view east to the dam head and, beyond, the crags (with Wharncliffe Lodge just visible on the cliff edge):
Travelling uphill along that narrow road—More Hall Lane—to a view over Ewden Valley, on the way to the higher village of Bolsterstone. Moore Hall Reservoir is downstream to the left, behind the trees in the valley bottom. The water visible at the right of the image is the upstream Broomhead Reservoir. Technically, this photo is a bit dubious, but the view's a pleasant one.
Following are three views of Bitholme Woods, on the rising north side of Moore Hall Reservoir. Somewhere around here is the sculpture of the Wantley Dragon. There are waymarkers on the path as guide, but we abandoned the search as there is nowhere to safely park a car on the narrow lane below, where the footpath starts, and we didn't want to cause an obstruction for too long—nor return to a potentially damaged vehicle!
Part of Roaming South Yorkshire.