FROM the King of Tonga to Compo, Clegg and Foggy, Dovestone Reservoir has never only been a recent destination of choice for thousands of staycationers.
Excess littering, anti-social behaviour and lack of car parking are not current day phenomena either.
In fact, the Greenfield beauty spot and the magnificent scenery around has long been a “honeypot” for visitors.
That’s the view of Sue Frost, wife of former Area Ranger Geoff Frost, who dedicated the last few years of his life to chronicling the history of Dovestone, Chew Valley and the surrounding countryside.
This month marks the second anniversary of the death (January 2) of Geoff, whose ‘patch’ covered Holme Moss to the outskirts of Marsden to the Binn Green base beside his beloved Dovestone.
In 2016, Geoff began researching what has become a fascinating collection of information, photos and stories for the website www.doveheritage.com
Sue continues to update Geoff’s legacy and despite a multitude of current site issues stakeholders continue to grapple with, Geoff – until his passing aged 75 in 2019 – and his wife never fallen out of love with what has been home for nearly 40 years.
“When Dovestone was closed during the first lockdown last March, the place was deserted,” said Sue. “It was absolute bliss – so quiet and peaceful. But it has been chaos ever since.
“However, I love it here and Geoff was the same. He loved his job, who wouldn’t?
“Mind you, it has always been like a honeypot. When Geoff worked in the 80s, people would park all the way up Bank Lane. The car park was always full.
“At Bank Holidays, he would get up art 5am in to clear away the litter before it got mad again.
People left so much rubbish.
“They didn’t seem though to park all over the main road like they do now. Visitors come from all over now.
“There was one occasion when a taxi full of people from Hull turned up asking for directions. It seems to have got busier during Covid.
“It doesn’t attract the walkers and hikers like it used to do; it seems to be more about people who come just for a walk.”
How many visitors stop to consider more than just the views?
Take the stone, for example, at Yeoman Hey Reservoir laid by the King of Tonga 40 years ago, detouring to Saddleworth while visiting Britain to attend the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer.
Dovestone has formed the backdrop for a number of television shows and films. Last of the Summer Wine actors Bill Owen, Peter Sallis and Brian Wilde shot footage for the programme in 1995.
They did so on a track close to Ashway Gap – the neo Gothic mansion house of which there are now only remnants and where a former member of parliament James Platt was accidentally killed in a shooting incident.
Even less evidence remains of two moorland pubs – the infamous Moorcock – or Bill o’ Jacks – and the Isle of Skye Hotel once located off the A635 Holmfirth Road.
Trekking up to Chew Reservoir – formerly the highest constructed in England – you would never know a reservoir keeper’s home existed in this desolate spot.
However, browse online on www.doveheritage.com and you will discover a plethora of facts associated with the area.
“There were always lots of different bits and pieces coming up about Dovestone,” added Sue. “Some things people came up with though that weren’t always true
“Initially, Geoff (who retired in 2007) wanted to write a book about his work as a ranger but eventually decided to do the website.
“He had problems with his mobility in the last few years of his life and couldn’t get out and walk as much. The website was something he could do from home
“He learned a lot about the place while he was doing it because there I so much history around here.”
