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Ulley Reservoir Country Park

1.24 miles (2 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap Enjoy a short walk or cycle around the beautiful Ulley Reservoir near Rotherham. There are lovely paved paths around the reservoir and fanatastic views of the surrounding Yorkshire countryside. It's also great for birdwatching with a number of water loving birds to see on the water. You can start your exercise from the car park on the north western side of the site.
National Cycle Route 6 runs past the park so you could continue your ride along the Rotherham to Worksop cycle route.
If you're on foot then head north to Guilthwaite and you could pick up the Rotherham Round Walk. The waymarked trail explores the area around the town. If you follow it north west there's a nice section along the River Rother into the town centre.

Postcode

S26 3XL - Please note: Postcode may be approximate for some rural locations

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Ulley Country Park OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Ulley Country Park Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Pubs/Cafes

There's a small on site cafe which opens intermittently. Just to the south of the park there's the Robin Hood Inn in the village of Aughton as a back up. The country pub does good quality home cooked food with a decent selection of ales. It has some history too with parts dating from the 1600s. You can find them at 64 Main St with a postcode of S26 3XJ for your sat navs.

Dog Walking

The lakeside trail is a lovely one to do with your dog. The Robin Hood Inn mentioned above is also dog friendly.

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

Just to the west of the park there's the Treeton Wood, Treeton Dyke and Hail Mary Hill Wood Nature Reserve to visit. The splendid Wentworth Woodhouse is another good option in the Rotherham area. The Grade I listed house is surrounded by some lovely parkland walks.
Head south and there's more pleasant waterside walking around Harthill Reservoir and Pebley Reservoir near Barlborough.
A few miles to the north there's a lovely lakeside trail and lots of wildlife to see in the popular Thrybergh Country Park. The peaceful woodland trails in Wickersley Woods are also located near here.

Photos

Ulley Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 540904

Ulley Reservoir. Looking towards the top end of one fork of the reservoir in the valley of a stream that originates near Thurcroft.

Ulley Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 540908

Ulley Reservoir became the subject of a major national news story in June 2007 when, following exceptionally heavy rain, engineers warned that there was a serious risk of the dam bursting, with potentially catastrophic results for places further down the valley. People were evacuated from Catcliffe and the M1 was closed for a period. Water was pumped out and fortunately the dam held; work is now taking place to strengthen the structure. Note that despite the wet summer, water levels are low.

Ulley Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 956779

This wooded footpath is closed at this point where it approaches the dam wall, as reinforcment work appears to be still taking place following the floods of June 2007.

Entrance to Ulley Country Park - geograph.org.uk - 1323542

Entrance to Ulley Country Park

Ulley Reservoir - Overflow - geograph.org.uk - 4006627

The overflow at the northern end of the lake.

Ulley Reservoir - Footpath rounding the end section - geograph.org.uk - 4006644

Footpath rounding the end section next to the Ulley Brook.

Ulley and village sign - geograph.org.uk - 3228447

A view of the main street in Ulley village which lies just to the east.

South end of Ulley Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 3228589

South end of the lake in autumn

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

Ulley Country Park.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)

Memory Map Route

Ulley Country Park.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Download Linked File)