| Wessenden Valley | |
| Country: | England |
The Wessenden Valley is a moorland valley in the Dark Peak, immediately south of Marsden in West Yorkshire, England.[1] The name Wessenden derives from Old English and means the 'valley with rock suitable for whetstones'.[2] The valley was formed by retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age and continues to be cut by the Wessenden Brook a tributary of the River Colne with a catchment of 16.27km2.[3]
The valley is in the Marsden Moor Estate and occupied by four reservoirs, namely Wessenden Head, Wessenden, Blakeley and Butterley,[4] the largest. The Kirklees Way and Pennine Way long-distance footpaths follow the valley.[5] The upper part of the valley near Wessenden Head is managed by the National Trust as part of the 5000acres Marsden Moor Estate.[6]
Butterley Reservoir's spillway, the only one of its kind in England, was a Grade II Listed structure[7] until Yorkshire Water renovated it using concrete after winning a case on appeal.