Field & moor path 55%Lane & track 35%Road with traffic 10%
Our drawing of the route — the shape of the walk, not a navigation aid. Carry OS Explorer on the hill.
Starts at
Langsett Barn car park, off the A616 Manchester Road at Langsett, S36 4GYS36 4GY
Parking
Free Yorkshire Water car park at Langsett Barn with toilets, disabled parking and a picnic area; it fills from mid-morning at weekends and in school holidays. The overflow Yorkshire Water names is Lan
Yorkshire Water's own three-mile circuit from Langsett Barn car park, about four miles south-west of Penistone on the A616. The north shore is an easy path through conifer plantation with the water on your left; the far half climbs onto open moor past the ruined farmstead known as North America, on rocky trail that turns muddy and ices over in winter, before dropping to a bridge over the reservoir inlet and returning along the south shore and over the dam. There are gates throughout and a flight of steps near the end, so it is not a buggy or wheelchair route. Sheep graze the moor above the plantation and the ground is used by nesting birds, which is why the lead request here is not a formality.
THE SMALL PRINTYorkshire Water's route guide for this walk: "Yorkshire Water encourages responsible dog ownership. We request that dogs are kept on leads, especially during bird breeding and lambing season. Please clean up all dog foul and dispose of responsibly." Yorkshire Water's visitor safety page asks for dogs on a short lead between 1 March and 31 July to protect ground-nesting birds, and states that it is not safe for dogs to swim in or drink from its reservoirs because of blue-green algae. The moor is Open Access land, where a lead is a legal requirement around farm animals. Barnsley Council's borough-wide dog control PSPO of 1 April 2025 applies here: you must clear up and carry the means to do so, and must put the dog on a lead if an authorised officer asks. Fixed penalty £100.