Early Morning at Baitings Dam

Baitings Dam is a reservoir built to supply Wakefield with fresh water, completed in 1956 it is the higher of the 2 dams that block the flow of the River Ryburn here, the lower being Ryburn Dam. Construction cost around £1.4 million and took 8 years to complete, it involved flooding a small hamlet known as Baitings and sub merging the old packhorse bridge that provided a road link between Lancashire and Yorkshire, the bridge still stands and is revealed every time the water level is low. The bridge was replaced by a concrete structure called Back O'th Heights Bridge which gives a good indication of how high the dame is when full by the time marks just underneath the road level. When full the dam can hold over 113,000,000 cubic feet of water, or approx. 703,858,407 gallons.

Baitings is fed by runs offs from the local moorland and is the start of the River Ryburn that flows down the valley eventually reaching the River Calder at Sowerby Bridge approx 6 miles down the valley. It also flows in to the Ryburn Dam a little lower down the valley and built in 1933, also to supply water to Wakefield.

The pictures were taken around dawn on the 19th August 2022, whilst Baitings was at its lowest level for a couple of years. Despite being low and contrary to what local news outlets would have you believe this was not the first time in over 50 years the old bridge was visible, having been seen on at least 3 occasions in the last few years. It was once in a decade event but with the recent summer heat events being experienced in the UK this is becoming more regular.

The pictures were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR and can also be seen on Clickasnap where they are full size, resolution and un-watermarked, copies can also be purchased there.

The tide marks underneath Back O'th Heights Bridge show the dams level when full.

The former bridge is submerged for most of the year, it's appearances becoming
more frequent in recent years.

The former bridge can be seen beyond it's replacement, this gives an idea of how low
the water level has dropped due to the recent dry weather.

The waterless back of the dam beyond the former bridge, the water level normally
hiding the river that feeds it.

I took this further up the A58 towards Rochdale, looking across the fields in the direction
of the bridges and Baitings Dam.

Thanks for looking and please take a moment to share. All the pictures can all be seen and purchased from Clickasnap, they are displayed full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

All the images remain the copyright of Colin Green.