The piece and tranquillity of Derwent Dam on a calm and sunny day belies its history; scholars of which would be able to recite the story of the famous 617 Dambuster Squadron and the practice bombing raids which were held at Derwent. To be fair, it’s a story that many are familiar with, not least those that live in or near the north east corner of the Dark Peak.

Today, the scene is nothing but peaceful – lest however, the weather is ‘rough’. Spring 2010 has been a dry on in this neck of the woods and the water level is down as can be seen in the images below. With the exception of the commemorative ‘fly pasts’, only the shuttle bus, the mountain bikers and the walkers pass this way on a typical day. Ignoring the past, Derwent is a great place to go to blow the cobwebs out of your hair…

Derwent Dam, made famous by dint of the practice bomb runs during World War II...