It’s one of the Peak District’s most impressive bodies of water – but it gets a whole lot more mighty when there’s been a lot of rain.
And given that Greater Manchester isn’t exactly famed for its dry and sunny weather, winter is actually one of the best times to wrap up warm, suck it up, and get out for a walk.
Ladybower Reservoir stands beside Snake Pass in the heart of the national park, around an hour’s drive from Manchester city centre.
The huge y-shaped body of water is maybe best-known for its two bellmouth overflows – better known as its ‘plugholes’.
The overflows are 24 metres in diameter, and carry excess water to the base of the dam.
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There’s often no water flowing through the drains. Credit: Instagram @nudelboiiOne of the ‘plugholes’ seen from above. Credit: Instagram @damian_kuhne
The water level often isn’t high enough to see the plugholes in action – but when they are, it creates quite the spectacle.
Ladybower Reservoir is one of three reservoirs in the Upper Derwent Valley.
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Its construction was completed in 1943 in a bid to keep up with the demand for water in industrial towns in the North West.
The reservoir itself is beautiful, but sizeable – it’s about 5.5 miles to walk around the water’s edge.
The farm shop adored by Molly-Mae Hague, with pick’n’mix cakes and a wall of cheese
Daisy Jackson
There are farm shops, and then there is The Hollies.
The Cheshire institution has been around since 1959, when it began life as a humble roadside vegetable stand with an honesty box.
More than six decades later, it has evolved into the sort of place where you can arrive intending to buy a few vegetables for dinner, and leave several hours later with a basket of fancy crisps, a wedge of local cheese, a candle, a house plant and a pumpkin sculpture on legs.
And if the name sounds familiar, you may remember it from the rather sizeable Molly-Mae effect it experienced in 2023.
The influencer and former Love Island star visited The Hollies with her sister Zoe and daughter Bambi, filming a vlog around the farm shop and declaring that ‘everything in here is just unreal’ – and huge queues followed within days.
But visit now and it becomes immediately obvious why this place has become such a destination in its own right, because this isn’t just somewhere to pick up a locally grown cabbage.
The first thing that hits you is the produce. There are mountains of fruit and vegetables laid out, including marrows the size of your thigh, grapes in paper bags, and punnets of strawberries you can smell as soon as you walk through the door.
The Hollies says its farm shops stock seasonal produce alongside goods sourced from more than 70 local suppliers, as well as products from across the UK and further afield.
Fresh produce at The Hollies Farm Shop. Credit: The Manc Group
The food hall is where a normal farm shop trip – and your weekly budget – starts to spiral.
You’ll find jars of beans that look suspiciously like they belong in an extremely well-dressed pantry, Gymkhana cooking sauces, colourful pasta for people who like to photograph their dinner, and some of the poshest crisps outside of Harrods.
Then there’s the bakery, where alongside fresh bread loaves is a range of treats from local Cheshire business Allison’s Kitchen, including one particularly brilliant idea: a pick’n’mix cake (a full cake made of four slices, like an edible pie chart).
One of the most impressive sights is the wall of cheese, which showcases plenty of local produce from soft and blue cheeses through to big, punchy cheddars.
Olives beneath an olive treeThe wall of cheeseThe Hollies farm shop bakeryThe pick’n’mix cakeMulticolour pastaThe salad bar
Nearby, the deli and salad bar turns the whole thing into something approaching a countryside version of a very glamorous food hall.
There are fresh pies, pasties, quiches and sandwiches, alongside all the ingredients needed to put together a very respectable picnic.
And then there is the wine. A huge wine selection.
At this point, your original plan to ‘just pop in for some fruit’ is looking increasingly unrealistic.
And then The Hollies is so beautifully put together, it’s hard to tear yourself back outside – the olives are displayed on a softly lit table beneath an olive tree, and root vegetables sit beneath an acorn tree, like walking through a series of carefully designed little sets.
I’ve never been so inclined to take a picture of a potato before.
If you think you’ve finished once you’ve conquered the food shop, you’re very much mistaken. The Barn is the gift, retail and lifestyle side of The Hollies, and it feels like autumn has been given an unlimited budget.
Autumn gifts in The BarnThe Barn at The Hollies FarmshopMore gifts and cards at The HolliesThe Fresian RoomsThe Fresian Rooms
There are seasonal decorations, pumpkins and orange leaves alongside Jellycats and other soft toys, greetings cards, candles, mugs, bags and fashion.
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Finally, there’s The Friesian Rooms, where you can sit with a coffee and cake or grab some lunch, on a sunny terrace that feels (on a good day) very akin to Soho Farmhouse.
The Hollies has taken the humble idea of buying good food directly from the countryside and turned it into a full-blown Cheshire day out – one with exceptionally good cheese, extremely photogenic vegetables, and just the occasional influencer wandering through…
The inflatable floating obstacle course you can splash around on near Manchester
Daisy Jackson
There’s a giant inflatable floating obstacle course less than an hour from Manchester, where you can slide, jump, and fall straight into a lake.
At Wild Shore Delamere, you can tackle obstacles like monkey bars, the ninja-jump, the tyre run, and a giant 3.8 metre-tall inflatable tower, all floating on the surface of the picturesque lake.
The adventure hub opened back in 2019, offering families a chance to play on Delamere Lake, or try new watersports right here in the North West.
Let’s head to that inflatable Aqua Park – even as a full-grown adult, this is one of the silliest afternoons you can imagine.
Squeeze yourself into a wetsuit then launch yourself into the lake, ready to clamber all over a course that is essentially a gigantic floating bouncy castle.
The trickiest part is managing to stay on your feet as you slip and slide your way around the course in your 50 minute session – but really, where’s the fun in staying on your feet?
Monkey BarsThe Ninja JumpThe Tyre RunThe Figure EightFeatures of the Aqua Park at Wild Shore Delamere
While you’re on the lake, you can also try other activities like the Ringo, which whips you up and down the water on a huge inflatable, while the operator seems dead-set on flinging you off.
As well as the inflatable Aqua Park, there’s the Aqua Chimp ropes course for the more gymnastic types, plus wakeboarding, paddle boarding, and open water swimming.
Wild Shore Delamere has also added a new sauna this year, which overlooks the water – you can enjoy contrast therapy, switching from the warm sauna to the lake itself.
Wetsuits and life vests are included, so all you need to pack is a swimsuit, towel, and a bit of reckless abandon as you crash beneath the surface.
Paddle boards at Wild Shore DelamereThe sauna and cold plungeThe RingoAqua Chimp
Daisy Jackson -
30th December 2022 
