See photos of the last time Ladybower revealed its submerged village

This summer's heatwave has opened up the possibility that the old village of Derwent that is submerged in Ladybower will be visible again.

The village of Derwent was submerged in water in 1944 to create the Derwent Dam ad Ladybower Reservoir which stand there today.

While they are popular all year round, the visitors increase during the rainy periods to experience the man-made sights of the spectacular cascade at the dam and the iconic spiralling 'plugholes' in the reservoir.

But it is also those periods of severe drought that has brought crowds to the area. The lack of rainfall and heatwaves of the summer of 2022 has led walkers to speculate whether the water levels will drop low enough to reveal the remnants of old Derwent village.

READ MORE: The flooded village that lies beneath Ladybower Reservoir

The village has risen from the depths on numerous occasion since its flooding in the 1940s, most recently in 2018 when visitors descended on the area in great numbers to catch an all too rare glimpse of the past; a severe drought gradually stealing the vast water reserves and revealing this long-gone and rarely-disturbed relic trapped both in time and millions of gallons of water.

Prior to 2018, only the years 1976, 1989, 1995 and 2003 have afforded such opportunities. This is a very rare occurrence and so far, while the levels have fallen dramatically in the summer of 2022, they haven't reached the levels of 2018 as revealed in the photos below.

The photos were uploaded to our Derbyshire and Peak District Walk Facebook Group, join the community to see more wonderful photographs of the area

The foundations of Derwent Hall in 2018 (Image: Andrew Hayes)

An old bridge at Derwent Hall revealed in 2018 (Image: Andrew Heyes)

The low water level at Ladybower in 2018 (Image: Clare Hobson)

Part of the Derwent Hall structure revealed in 2018 (Image: Clare Hobson)

Remnants of the old railway line in 2018 (Image: Lisa Pudge)

An old gate post to Derwent Hall was fully visible in 2018 (Image: Hazel Phipps)

Ladybower starting to fill up again during the winter of 2018 (Image: Hazel Phipps)

Below are some photos of the water levels in 2022, we will add more photos that are uploaded to the Facebook group

The plugholes are a long way off from overflowing in 2022. For scale, notice the sheep at the rim (Image: Julie Mottershead)

The water level in summer 2020 in several feet below the level required to activate the 'plughole' on the left (Image: Wayne Smith)

Part of the old Derwent village church has appeared in 2022 (Image: Terry Westerman)

The darker colouring on the stonework shows the usual levels of the water (Image: Samantha Smith)