Wessenden Valley
Valley in West Yorkshire, England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wessenden Valley | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 53.586°N 1.929°W |
 Interactive map of Wessenden Valley | |
The Wessenden Valley is a moorland valley in the Dark Peak, immediately south of Marsden in West Yorkshire, England.[1] The name Wessenden derives from Old English and means the 'valley with rock suitable for whetstones'.[2] The valley was formed by retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age and continues to be cut by the Wessenden Brook a tributary of the River Colne with a catchment of 6.28 square miles (16.27 km2).[3]
The valley is in the Marsden Moor Estate and occupied by four reservoirs, namely Wessenden Head, Wessenden, Blakeley and Butterley,[4] the largest. The Kirklees Way and Pennine Way long-distance footpaths follow the valley.[5] The upper part of the valley near Wessenden Head is managed by the National Trust as part of the 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) Marsden Moor Estate.[6]
The area around the head of the valley, near the junction of the A365 and Wessenden Head Road, is locally known as the Isle of Skye. The area was a popular walking destination in Victorian times.[7]
Butterley Reservoir's spillway, the only one of its kind in England, was a Grade II listed structure[8] until Yorkshire Water renovated it using concrete after winning a case on appeal.