Description: The Goyt Valley lies in the west of the Peak District National Park on the Derbyshire/Cheshire border. The name of the valley is associated with the dialect word goyt or goit for stream or watercourse. This is turn came from the Old English word gota. The Goyt Valley is a typical example of Dark Peak scenery. Here you can find high moorland, river and valley scenery with the man-made additions of the Fernilee and Errwood reservoirs. The landscape of the Goyt Valley is a mosaic, ranging from the heather and grasses of the moorland pastures, to the woodland and enclosed farmland of the valley. This interesting mix of landscapes provides nationally important, semi-natural habitats for wildlife and nature conservation. It also adds to the attraction of the Goyt Valley. The river Goyt rises on the moorland slopes near the Cat and Fiddle Inn. It flows northwards through steep rocky 'cloughs' (valleys) and is the main feeder for the Errwood and Fernilee Reservoirs. The Goyt collects tributaries at Whaley Bridge, and merges with the Etherow and Tame at Stockport to become the River Mersey. The earliest history of the Goyt Valley belongs to Neolithic farmers around 3,000 BC, who were the first to start felling trees and clearing the ground for cultivation. farming continued to be the predominant use of the valley for centuries. Following the Norman Conquest the Goyt lay between two Royal Hunting Forests (Peak Forest and Macclesfield Forest). Since at least the 1500s and until earlier this century, the Goyt Valley supported a flourishing community. Tenanted farms, coal mines, a water mill, a railway and a gunpowder mill were all part of the landscape. The flooding of the valley to form the Errwood and Fernilee reservoirs changes its use dramatically. (extracted from www.peakdistrict-education.co.uk)