Dove Stone Reservoir

One of my favourite places to visit! Dovestones is a reservoir situated in saddleworth which is so beautifully picturesque. Great for weekend walks, and equally as good for bike riding or going to runs.
Also a great place for people to bring the kids and push prams around, or take the dog for a walk. There is a dedicated picnic area for the summer months, ideal to bring a packed lunch…
A couple of us walked round today and took a route which was a little off the beaten track, which lead us to rivers made up of rock pools and huge forests. A great place to just explore and get lost in.
One the finer places in Oldham!

Our mission to go for at least one walk in the great outdoors each month of 2016 continues — at Dove Stone Reservoir up in the hills of Saddleworth.
Hoping lots of folks would have been put off by the cold weather and fallen snow, our group were met by total carmageddon at the official car park (which was full on a Sunday lunchtime and proved difficult to find a space). After a couple of circuits without success, we drove back to the main road, up the hill a few hundred yards and found plenty of room at the Binn Green car park. It’s supposed to be pay and display but there were no machines — double winner.
We took a stepped path down from this car park (it’s a tad muddy in winter so choose appropriate footwear) and then eventually met the main paved/​gravelled route around the reservoir. It’s pretty flat all the way and there are gorgeous views to be had, so lots of photo opportunities.
The shorter circular route is about 3 miles, whereas if you include the route past Yeoman Hey and Greenfield Reservoirs this increases to 5 miles. We were getting hungry by this point so decided to just do the former!

I have been to Dovestones twice now and it is a gorgeous place, it is also fantastic for your camera!
The path is quite level in most areas and the reservoir is mostly fenced off for safety. We took our two dogs this time and they loved it! If you have dogs I would definitely recommend taking them.
At the start of the route, there is a board of the routes and area. There is also a toilet block at the start, but they have been quite disgusting both times I have been. The soap does not always work so this time I made a point of taking hand sanitiser and tissues in case there was no toilet roll. I would also recommend taking a bottle of water… or maybe even two? Especially in hot weather!
There is sometimes an AutoChef van parked in the car park that serves hot/​cold food and drinks at usual burger van prices. If you park in the car park, (which is pay and display), make sure to tuck your wing mirrors in as cars tend to get very close.

I love this place!
I’ve visited Dovestones a few times, and it’s picturesque in both winter & summer seasons. The views over the water are stunning, a great location for any budding photographer.
I’ve taken our dog up here a few times and she loves it. Quite a level walking on a stoney path with just the odd one or two small inclines. The space is wide open and the reservoir is fenced mostly all the around to keep the little ones safe.
It’s a great place for a run too, if you’re into cross country or trail running, this is an easy route and 1 lap over the reservoir is just over 2 miles.
You do have to pay for parking so make sure you’ve got some change, but it’s worth the cost (which isn’t much) and if your a rambler there are more difficult pathways to follow too.

Having gotten RSPB membership MrD and I were looking for places to go on the website — Dove Stones was within reasonable distance being a bit further out from Manchester than Oldham (I have to say though that sat nav was invaluable in finding it!) Our membership gave us free parking (leave your card on the dashboard), otherwise it’s a pay and display.
There is your standard map of routes visible on the toilet block in the car park — two circular, one being around the reservoir and the other around some woods, along with a number of branching out routes were o/​s maps were recommended.
We did the lake walk and found it quite flat going with just a couple of short slopes — made for nice easy walking to enjoy the scenery from — it is a truly beautiful place and by gradually ascending you end up with lovely views back over the reservoir. if it wasn’t for the fact you can see the city in the distance you wouldn’t believe how close it is!
Well worth a trip on a nice day, we’ll be back to try the other circular route soon!

Let’s get one thing straight shall we? I’m not the biggest country side fan in the world, give me bricks, glass and steel any day. But at the same time I do like a nice view, and I like wildlife and a few months back Mrs Z and I joined the RSPB, and as Dovestone is an RSPB place and because yesterday was a nice but cold day we thought we’d go and check it out.
I have to say that it is really nice place, and the views you get up there are spectacular, especially as there was still quite a bit of snow on the peaks of the higher hills in the area.
We only walked around the main lake (There are 3 in total) and it is a very pleasant walk of around two and a half miles and at the end, or beginning (It’s up to you) there was a butty van and an ice cream one (wasn’t really the weather for that) but the bacon sarnie and coffee I had hit the spot.
If you have dogs and you like to take them on long country walks, then give dovestone a try you won’t be dissapointed, we don’t have dogs and we weren’t dissapointed.
After the trek we had a brief chat with the lovely RSPB people who had set up their van and were handing out questionnaires to fill in about what you thought of the area.
We are both really looking forward to going back when the weather is a bit on the warmer side and an ice cream is the order of the day…

After having lived in Manchester for about 5 years with no car, we were certain that we had visited every town, museum, park, lake and point of interest and were really scraping the bottom of the barrel for places to go. I randomly (not random in the modern sense of the word, it really was a close your eyes and point at the page job) pointed this out this place that we could reach by train from Victoria. Call me naïve but I was sceptical that this would be a nice scenic place due to its close proximity to Oldham.
We took the train to Greenfield and walked a mile or so to the reservoir, which was such a pleasant surprise. There was a 2.5 mile circuit around the reservoir which was busy with families, couples and dog-​walkers enjoying a stroll. However, the path was pretty flat, and although good for pushchairs, wasn’t quite hardcore enough for us. We decided to continue on to Yeoman Hey and Greenfield reservoirs (which were equally as beautiful) and up a waterfall into the hills. I would strongly advise you to take a map if you attempt this walk as there are no signposts when you get past the reservoirs. For an amateur walker like myself the climb up the waterfall was pretty taxing and some parts involved pulling yourself up with your arms (or being pulled up by someone else!). We only bumped into about 4 others on this walk, which was a stark contrast to the busy reservoir below.
At the top it was pretty boggy, so needless to say I returned down to the reservoir with a very muddy bum. The path down was quite gentle but my legs had turned to jelly, which made for an amusing descent.
All in all, a brilliant place for a day trip from Manchester, and not as busy as the honey-​pots of the Peak District such as Castleton, though equally as beautiful.