Parking
Start at the Fairholmes Visitor Centre car park beside the route. The car park is charged; toilets and a refreshments kiosk are at the visitor centre.
Overview
About Derwent Dam Black Route
Why go
- Twin-towered dam and reservoir views in a short loop
- Toilets and refreshments at Fairholmes
Heads up
- Rough tracks, stone steps and uneven climbing
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Peak District map
Full mapElevation210–382 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Peak District alerts
- ClosureA54 Cat and Fiddle road closureThe A54 Macclesfield Main Road (Cat and Fiddle) is fully closed to all traffic from 27 July through 30 October 2026 during phase 1 improvement works.Official details
- ClosureHooks Carr (Stanage Popular) car park closureHooks Carr (Stanage Popular) car park will be partially or fully closed from 6 October for four weeks.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Peak District Tour Guide
Your drive to Derwent Dam Black Route, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Peak District National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this trailhead
Derwent Dam from Fairholmes0:00 / 0:35
“You're coming up on Fairholmes, the starting point for a short walk to Derwent Dam. Its twin stone towers make the wall look almost like a castle, and from below you get a sense of its scale.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Peak District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Alport Castles from Fairholmes
- The Village That Built the Dams
- The Spire Above Ladybower
- The Snake on the Sign
- 298 audio storiesacross Peak District’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Red Fox, Eurasian Otter, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 88 trails, 76 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Derwent Dam Black Route
The loopDerwent Dam Black Route is a 2.
Derwent Dam Black Route is a 2.5-mile loop from Fairholmes, circling the wooded slope above the reservoir and passing close to the dam. Allow about 1–1.5 hours. Go for the twin stone towers and water views without committing to a longer moorland walk.
UnderfootThe circuit starts on paved paths, then switches to gravel and compacted tracks with stone…
The circuit starts on paved paths, then switches to gravel and compacted tracks with stone steps and some steeper, uneven ground. It briefly retraces a short track section before closing at Fairholmes, so expect a little backtracking within the loop. At the dam, frame the tower with water in the foreground; it makes the scale easier to read. RAF 617 Squadron practiced here for the 1943 Dambusters raid.
At FairholmesStart at the Fairholmes Visitor Centre car park; parking is charged, and toilets and a…
Start at the Fairholmes Visitor Centre car park; parking is charged, and toilets and a refreshments kiosk are at the start. The National Park’s separate Access for All route reaches the dam tower base after 600 m, a much shorter way to see it from below.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Peak District
248 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
36 sightingsRed FoxMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
15 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
51 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
47 sightingsEuropean Fallow DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
54 sightingsWestern Roe DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Peak District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
