Kinder Reservoir, Hayfield, Derbyshire, England

It is perhaps impossible to walk though the northern moorlands of Britain without there being a reservoir somewhere in the vicinity. Collecting what runs off the moors is major means of supplying the water needs of domestic and non-domestic customers in England if my impressions are correct. So, at the western side of the boggy plateau that is Kinder Scout, there is a reservoir operated by United Utilities. These are the same people that supply my water and to whom I recently paid a bill, the first of two in the year.

Though a symbol of industrialisation, reservoirs often one of the few landmarks in largely featureless countryside and people like me seem to accept that they are there. That they have been there a while might be part of this but, cut out the damn, and it might be possible to make the construction appear like a natural water feature as I have tried to do here. The isolated and remote feel of the location only can help too and this is proper hill country crisscrossed with rights way linking places such as nearby Hayfield, Edale and Glossop.

Looking again at this sun-spotted composition from a largely cloudy day is suggesting that I make a return sometime. After all, there is a lot to said for the route that I was following on the day. The rough path up by William Clough took me onto the Pennine Way before I followed the Doctor's Gate footpath to reach Glossop in fading light at the end of a well spent January day. Another stroll brought me from Hayfield to Edale by way of Edale Cross and Jacob's Ladder, a ridiculously paved stretch of the Pennine Way. These outings were a few years ago now so it's worth my while going back for another look...