The reservoirs of the Derwent valley sit amongst beautiful Derbyshire scenery and are popular year round destinations but few realise that the Dambusters used them for training before their departure to the Ruhr in World War 2.  With good tracks all around them, cycling is an enjoyable way to explore.

1943

The dog died first, on the 16th of May 1943. Unfortunately he was called Nigger so is little mentioned these days – to the extent that his gravestone at RAF Scampton was recently replaced by a nameless version. 

The black labrador had been run over and was buried at midnight. The mascot of 617 Squadron, he was owned by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, who sadly was unable to attend: he was already airborne leading a flight of nineteen Avro Lancasters on Operation Chastise, a bombing mission to Germany. 

The fabled night bombers each carried a crew of 7 but on that night they also had a secret weapon on board. Developed by Barnes Wallis, the rotating bombs, known as Upkeep, skipped over the water and were designed to explode against the heavily guarded dam walls of the Ruhr Valley. 

It was an incredibly dangerous mission: they had to be dropped from a height of only 60 feet at a speed of 232 mph: the height was simply measured by 2 searchlights to the front and back of the aircraft which intersected underneath at the correct height. 

It sounded an impossible job yet 133 men set out and the mission succeeded in destroying the Moehe and Eder dams. The third, the Sorpe, escaped intact. Who knows if the death of the dog was seen as a bad omen? It could certainly be considered such by the 53 men who died amongst the 8 lost crews; another 3 were taken prisoner. 

However 77 returned to a hero’s welcome, although waitresses wept at the empty spaces at breakfast the next morning and Wallis mourned the unprecedented 42% losses. Guy Gibson was given a Victoria Cross and retired on the spot.

In Germany, some 1000 Soviet prisoners of war and 600 civilians are thought to have died, farmland was inundated and thousands of livestock lost. However, as an isolated incident, little was achieved and repairs were quickly carried out. However the audacious success was a great morale booster and an embarrassment to the Germans.

1944

Guy Gibson, V.C., DSO +bar, DFC +bar, started his career at Yatesbury in 1936. He  chafed at his enforced retirement and started flying bombing missions again. 

Returning from his 170th mission on 19th September, 1944, he and his navigator mysteriously crashed  – in recent years, it has materialised that he may have been brought down by friendly fire, a ironically sad end for such a prolific, exuberant man. 

617 squadron later adopted an exploding dam as their badge with the motto Apres moi le deluge.  They became known as the Dambusters and were doubly immortalised by the eponymous 1955 film. 

2020

I was thinking of the Dambusters as we set off on a cycling circuit of Upper Derwent and Howden dams. Nestled between the narrow, wooded hills of Derbyshire, they closely resembled their counterparts in the Ruhr and were used in top secret training runs by 617 squadron – so much so that the locals complained to the RAF about their pilots ‘joy-riding’ over the dams at night!

They were built between 1901 and 1916 to provide water for the surrounding cities, with a third started in 1935: Ladybower, at the southernmost end. Ladybower has a clay-cored embankment, but the other two are solid masonry and it is a testimony to the Victorian engineers that they are still in full working order today.

We started near the Fairholmes Visitor Centre and set off in a clockwise direction, the first uphill section taking us quickly to the head of the Upper Derwent Reservoir. Peek in through the iron gate to see the war memorial to the Dambusters in the western tower. Shortly afterwards there is another memorial, this time to a loyal sheepdog called Tip that stayed with its master’s body for 15 weeks when he died on Howden Moors during the winter of 1953-4.

We continued on a good road and passed the site of Birchinlee or ‘Tin Town’ which once housed the workers who built the dams. There was a church, schools and of course bars, but little remains today. The Howden Dam wall has a similar gothic design to the Derwent, after which the route heads west round an arm of the reservoir. Watch out for the huge variety of mushrooms that grow on the banks beside the road. 

The bitumen ends after about 8 km at a gate and the track becomes gravel with a gentle creek crossing and then a hill with a handily placed bench half way up! 

At the bottom of a hill after nearly 9 km the valley opens out at a 17th century packhorse bridge which was actually moved stone by stone from the old ‘drowned’ village of Derwent, which was lost under the waters of Ladybower.  The water of the river Derwent ran dark from the wild bracken clad moorland which lay ahead but a u-turn took us back down the other side of the reservoir. 

Our route home on the eastern banks was more direct with lovely glimpses of water through sun dappled trees until at km 14 the wide stretch of water leading up to the Upper Derwent Dam came into view. . After heavy rain, it had the appearance of a giant infinity pool, a seamless join between water and sky, the tall towers standing guard to each side. It was exactly the same view that the Lancasters would have enjoyed as they skimmed over the dark surface all those years ago.

A final whizz downhill and we approached the base of the dam where the water tumbled down its stepped face in a beautiful white veil – I could have been back at the Bellagio! I had never actually seen water coming over the wall before and it was a stunning sight. 

Reluctantly, we headed back to the car park where amazingly the kiosk was still open for a socially distanced hot chocolate. 

The Dog

It is nice to think that 617 Squadron still exists today, although they are now based at RAF Marham in Lincolnshire. The black labrador is the only one of the original squadron to remain at RAF Scampton where his grave can still be visited – his master lies a little further afield at Steenbergen in the Netherlands. Of the 133 men who set out that fateful night, only 32 were to survive the war. 

Notes

The Upper Derwent and Howden circuit is about 10 miles long and largely on good traffic free roads and tracks. There are a few very minor hills. It can take anything from one hour plus on a bicycle, depending on stops, to about 4 – 5 hours on foot. If feeling energetic, include Ladybower as well, which brings the total to about 22 miles.

Bicycles can be hired at the Fairholmes Visitor Centre and there is a little kiosk serving drinks and snacks. There is a large paying car park, or park by the side of the road before the centre for free parking.