Longdendale

Longdendale is a valley in Northern England, north of Glossop and southeast of Holmfirth. The name means "long wooded valley" and the valley marks the boundary between the counties of Derbyshire and Greater Manchester.

Geography

The eastern part of the valley is in the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire and includes the village of Tintwistle and, further east, part of the Peak District National Park, with the last half mile or so falling into the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire. The western part of the valley, including the villages of Broadbottom, Mottram in Longdendale and Hollingworth is part of Tameside in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. The whole of Longdendale forms the easternmost extension of the lands within the historic boundaries of Cheshire.

The River Etherow, a tributary of the River Mersey, rises south of Holmfirth and then flows through a chain of six reservoirs known as the Longdendale Chain: Woodhead Reservoir, Torside Reservoir, Rhodeswood Reservoir, Valehouse Reservoir, Bottoms Reservoir and Arnfield Reservoir. There was a seventh reservoir at Hollingworth, but it was abandoned in 1990 and now forms part of Swallows Wood Nature Reserve.