Baitings Reservoir Now Very Low 24 September 2022

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 dam must be somewhere near a historically low level now, the bridge completely uncovered and recently a sluice gate has appeared. I am assuming this was to regulate the flow in to the Ryburn Dam prior to Baitings being built. There was a footpath bridge between this sluice gate and the dam head but the water hasn't got low enough yet to reveal wether this is still there. Maybe a couple more weeks of low rainfall and it might appear if still there.

These pictures were taken on the 24th September 2022 using a Nikon d330 SLR camera, they can be seen below and on Clickasnap full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

The packhorse bridge appearing from beneath the water has gone from a once in decade or so event to every couple of years.

Whilst it's likely that levels have been low enough before for the original dam and sluice gate to appear, this was the first time I had seen them.

The original packhorse bridge, often submerged seen through the legs of it's modern replacement.

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Sunrise at Baitings Dam (Single Shot)

Baitings Dam has featured in our local newspapers quite regularly during the recent hot weather, due to how low the water level has dropped. Reading some of them online, they have claimed that the bridge which can be seen in the foreground of the picture has been unveiled for the first time in over 50 years. This is incorrect, whilst it used to be perhaps a once in a decade event the water level dropping so low that the bridge appears, it is now every couple of years. I took a set around the bridge in September 2019 with the level similarly low in the dam, and I believe it has happened again since then.

Baitings Dam is a place I regularly walk my dogs and it was whilst out walking them a couple of days ago I thought i'd try and get up there early and picture the dam and bridges as the sun was rising. The following picture is the first of the set, the others to follow in a few days. The picture can also be seen on my Clickasnap account full size, resolution and un-watermarked.

The picture was taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR on the 19th August 2022.

The bridge in the foreground is the original packhorse bridge that crossed the River Ryburn before Baitings Dam was completed in 1956. Its replacement bridge Back O'th Heights seen behind, the water level at it's highest a couple of feet below it. The sun is rising in the distance with the dam head wall just visible beyond the higher bridge.

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Baitings and Ryburn Reservoirs

Baitings and Ryburn Reservoir is a set of pictures taken around the 2 dams in July 2018 with a Nikon d3300 camera.

Ryburn Reservoir

Built in 1933 and surrounded by ancient woodland and rural fields, Ryburn Reservoir was built to supply the people of Wakefield with fresh water. Found to the south of the A58 on the outskirts of the village of Ripponden there are many walks around the dam and you can climb up the valley to the higher Baitings Reservoir.

Baitings Reservoir

Built to supply Wakefield, Baitings Reservoir opened in 1956 and is further up the valley from Ryburn. Fed by a number of small streams it's main supply is the River Ryburn with the dam sitting at the head of the Ryburn Valley. During times of low water levels the original bridge crossing can be seen, and although it was covered on this visit I managed to picture it on a later visit which I will upload another day.

All the pictures can be seen below and on Clickasnap un-watermarked. Simply click any picture to see the Clickasnap version in another window.

The pictures above are Baitings Reservoir.

The previous 6 pictures were taken. at Ryburn Reservoir.

Baitings Reservoir in the distance from Ryburn Reservoir.

The previous 3 pictures are Ryburn Reservoir.

Ryburn Reservoir.

Baitings Reservoir.

Baitings Reservoir.

Baitings Reservoir.

Back o'the Heights Road Bridge.

The previous 4 pictures are taken around Baitings Reservoir.

The rest can be seen on Flickr and Clickasnap. There is a video slideshow from YouTube as well

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All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.