Ladybower was built between 1935 and 1943 by the Derwent Valley Water Board to supplement the other two reservoirs in supplying the water needs of the East Midlands. It took a further two years to fill, which was done by 1945. The dam differs from the Howden Reservoir and Derwent Reservoir in that it is a clay-cored earth embankment and not a solid masonry dam. Below the dam is a cut-off trench 180 ft (55 m) deep and 6 ft (1.8 m) wide filled with concrete, stretching 500 ft (150 m) into the hills each side, to stop water leaking around the dam. The dam wall was built by Richard Baillie and Sons, a Scottish company. The two viaducts, Ashopton and Ladybower, needed to carry the trunk roads over the reservoir, were built by the London firm of Holloways, using a steel frame clad in concrete. The project was delayed when the Second World War broke out in 1939, making labour and raw materials scarce, but construction was continued due to the strategic importance of maintaining supplies. King George VI, accompanied by his wife, Queen Elizabeth, formally opened the reservoir on 25 September 1945.
To claim this virtual you will need to answer three simple questions . All the answers can be found on the notice boards along the dam wall
1. At notice board no.1 - How long did it take to fill ?
2. At notice board no.2 - What river does the water flow into ?
3. At notice board no.3 - What else are the Plugholes known as ?
4. Add a photo to your log of your GPS, your Geocaching name or yourself in the vicinity of either of the Plugholes
Send answers via the message centre or email links at the top of the cache page
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.