Combs Reservoir

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Combs Reservoir
Combs Reservoir from Castle Naze.jpg
Derbyshire UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Combs Reservoir
Location Derbyshire
Coordinates 53°18′48″N1°56′45″W / 53.3134°N 1.9459°W / 53.3134; -1.9459 (Combs Reservoir) Coordinates: 53°18′48″N1°56′45″W / 53.3134°N 1.9459°W / 53.3134; -1.9459 (Combs Reservoir)
Type reservoir
Primary inflows Meverill Brook and Pyegreave Brook
Primary outflows Randall Carr Brook
Basin  countriesUnited Kingdom
Max. length1 kilometre (0.6 mi)
Max. width0.5 kilometres (0.3 mi)
Water volume1,484,000 m3 (326,000,000 imp gal) [1]

Combs Reservoir from Whitehills Combs Reservoir from Whitehills by Dave Dunford.jpg
Combs Reservoir from Whitehills

Combs Reservoir is a canal-feeder reservoir in the Peak District National Park, close to Combs village in Derbyshire. The town of Chapel-en-le-Frith lies about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of the reservoir. [2]

Combs was built in 1797 as the first reservoir to feed the Peak Forest Canal (which opened in 1800) at Whaley Bridge. The canal was critical for transporting goods to and from the corn mills, cotton factories, collieries, and other local industries, as well as connecting to the Ashton Canal for the nearby limestone quarries. In 1831 the Macclesfield Canal was completed, which was connected to the Peak Forest Canal at Marple. The Toddbrook Reservoir at Whaley Bridge was built as an additional feeder reservoir and the dam at Combs Reservoir was raised between 1834 and 1840, in order to meet the demand for a greater water supply to the extended canal system. By the 1940s use of these canals for transporting industrial goods had ended. The reservoir is now owned by the Canal & River Trust. [3]

The Buxton to Manchester railway line runs between Combs Reservoir and Combs village to the south and alongside the western shore. [2]

The reservoir is overlooked by Eccles Pike hill from the north and from the south by the Iron Age promontory hillfort Castle Naze, at the northern end of Combs Moss. Castle Naze is a protected Scheduled monument. [4]

Combs Reservoir is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It is particularly important for its 'ephemeral bryophyte' mosses (such as the rare Physcomitrium sphaericum) and liverworts (Ricca glauca and Fossombronia wondraczekii). The area is a rich habitat for birdlife including the great crested grebe, little ringed plover, snipe and lapwing. [5]

Combs Sailing Club has used the reservoir for sailing training and racing since 1950. [6]

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Toddbrook Reservoir English reservoir

Toddbrook Reservoir, a feeder for the Peak Forest Canal, opened in 1838. It is sited above the town of Whaley Bridge in the Derbyshire High Peak area of England. The reservoir is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) providing habitats for herons, ducks and other animals and fish, while rare mosses and liverworts grow on its shores, particularly short-lived species that grow on seasonally exposed mud. The reservoir is used for sailing and angling. The Peak District Boundary Walk runs around the eastern end of the reservoir. The reservoir is owned by the Canal & River Trust and, like the nearby Combs Reservoir, is a feeder reservoir for the Peak Forest Canal. The feeder runs through Whaley Bridge, and with the Combs feed enters the canal system in a pool close to the transhipment shed at the Whaley Bridge canal basin.

Chapel-en-le-Frith Human settlement in England

Chapel-en-le-Frith is a town and civil parish in Derbyshire, England.

Peak District Boundary Walk Long distance footpath in England

The Peak District Boundary Walk is a circular 190-mile (310 km) walking trail, starting and finishing at Buxton and broadly following the boundary of the Peak District, Britain's first national park. The route was developed by the Friends of the Peak District and was launched on 17 June 2017.

Combs Moss Hill in the Derbyshire Peak District

Combs Moss is a plateau-topped hill between Chapel-en-le-Frith and Buxton in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. The summit, Combs Head, is 503 metres (1,650 ft) above sea level.

Fernilee Reservoir Reservoir in Derbyshire, England

Fernilee Reservoir is a drinking-water reservoir fed by the River Goyt in the Peak District National Park, within the county of Derbyshire and very close to the boundary with Cheshire. The village of Fernliee sits at the north end of the reservoir, with Goyt's Moss to the south and between Hoo Moor to the west and Combs Moss to the east.

Burbage Edge Hill in the Derbyshire Peak District

Burbage Edge is a gritstone escarpment overlooking the Burbage district of Buxton in Derbyshire, in the Peak District. The hill's summit is 500 metres (1,600 ft) above sea level. Not to be confused with the Burbage Rocks extension of Stanage Edge near Hathersage.

References

  1. "Defra Reservoir Safety – Floods and Reservoir Safety Integration (final Report Volume 2)". The British Dams Society. August 2002. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 OL24 White Peak area (Map). 1:25000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. West sheet.
  3. Broadbent, Sandy (2000). "The History of Combs Sailing Club" (PDF). Combs Sailing Club. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  4. Historic England. "Promontory fort on Combs Edge, Chapel-en-le-Frith (1009294)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  5. "Combs Reservoir SSSI" (PDF). Natural England. 20 October 1986. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  6. "Combs Sailing Club Online". www.combssailingclub.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2020.