The Wessenden Valley is a moorland

Moorland

Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...

 valley nestled amidst the Dark Peak

Dark Peak

The Dark Peak is the higher, wilder northern part of the Peak District in England.It gets its name because , the underlying limestone is covered by a cap of Millstone Grit which means that in winter the soil is almost always saturated with water...

, immediately south of the large village of Marsden

Marsden, West Yorkshire

Marsden is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, west of Huddersfield and located at the confluence of the River Colne and the Wessenden Brook...

 in the English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 county of West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

. The valley was formed by retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age, and continues to be cut by the Wessenden Brook, a tributary

Tributary

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...

 of the River Colne

River Colne, West Yorkshire

The River Colne is a river in West Yorkshire formed by a confluence at the foot of the Pennines close to the village of Marsden.-Course:Numerous brooks formed by rainwater high in the Pennines of West Yorkshire, flow down the hillsides through the small valleys to feed two Yorkshire Water...

.

The valley is occupied by four reservoirs, namely (from the top) Wessenden Head, Wessenden, Blakeley and Butterley reservoirs, the last being the largest. The Kirklees Way

Kirklees Way

The Kirklees Way is a 72 mile waymarked footpath in Kirklees metropolitan district, West Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1990 and includes the upper Colne Valley, Spen Valley and Holme Valley.-External links:* *...

 and Pennine Way

Pennine Way

The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England. The trail runs from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and the Northumberland National Park and ends at Kirk Yetholm, just inside the Scottish border. The path runs along the Pennine hills, sometimes...

long-distance footpaths both follow the valley.