Watersports on Ladybower Reservoir

Ladybower Reservoir, along with its neighbours Derwent and Howden further up the valley, is owned and managed by Severn Trent Water rather than run as a general-access lake. Motorised craft play no part here: what access exists is for canoes, kayaks and paddleboards, and it has typically been organised through a permit arrangement tied to a specific operator rather than open, unrestricted launching.

That arrangement has changed more than once. A proposal to build a permanent sailing club on the reservoir’s northern arm was rejected in the early 1980s after objections from the National Trust, the Nature Conservancy Council and the Ramblers Association on wildlife grounds, and organised paddlesports did not return in any form until 2023. Provision has changed hands more than once since, which is why this page names no operator: check directly with Severn Trent, who own the reservoir, rather than trust any list of activities including this one.

What has stayed constant is the setting. Ladybower is the largest reservoir in the Peak District, four kilometres long, built between 1935 and 1943 and formally opened by George VI in 1945, with the villages of Derwent and Ashopton drowned beneath it. Fishing, by contrast, is a long-established and stable activity here, with boat hire available through Ladybower Fisheries for anyone who would rather fish than paddle. For reliable, club-based sailing and paddling instruction elsewhere in the wider Peak District, Errwood Reservoir near Buxton has an established RYA-affiliated sailing club running throughout the year. It suits anyone who wants water in the middle of a walking week and is willing to ring ahead. It does not suit anyone who needs to book paddling in advance of the trip, and Errwood is the better call for that.