Scar House and Angram Reservoirs

The route

Start from the reservoir car park at the head of the private road above Lofthouse and loop around Scar House and Angram Reservoirs, an 18.1km circuit of the two waters and the moor that holds them. The southern shore is on made tarmac and dam track, while the northern and upper sections turn rougher and boggier, especially around Angram. The overall climbing is modest, so this is a long but forgiving day in genuinely wild surroundings.

The reservoirs

Scar House and Angram were built in the early 20th century to supply Bradford, huge feats of stone-built engineering at the remote head of Nidderdale. Scar House Dam is a monumental thing, and the navvy village that built it has long since vanished back into the moor. Above the reservoirs the fells rise to the watershed with Wharfedale, empty grouse moor where the Nidd begins. It is a place of big skies, curlew and the constant presence of water, remote enough that a change in weather is felt keenly.

Why it works

This is a route for a long, quiet day away from the crowds. The reservoir tracks give fast, easy running, while the moor sections around Angram are rougher and wetter, so the loop has variety without ever being technical. Navigation is straightforward on the dam tracks but needs more care on the open moor in cloud. It suits a steady long run or an easy big-distance day, and the car park has toilets, a rare luxury this far up the dale. There is nothing else out here, so carry what you need; Lofthouse and Pateley Bridge are the nearest villages. Come in late summer when the heather colours the surrounding moors and the reservoirs sit mirror-still, and this remote loop is at its finest.