It was in 1991 that one terrified family believed they had a close encounter with a British Bigfoot, near the Ladybower Reservoir in Derbyshire, and it was something they would never forget. And the great thing about this sighting was that, despite the Johnsons being the only ones who dare come forward with their account, there were more than one eyewitness. So, does the area around the Ladybower Reservoir really hold one or more Bigfoot? 
   The day started off as normal for the Johnson family. Because the weather was so pleasant they decided to take a trip into nearby Bamford Village. They spent the day visiting the local sights and, at around 3:30pm, they decided to leave for home. It was as the family were driving along the Manchester Road, passing by the Ladybower Reservoir, that they saw that something was up. A car was stopped in the middle of the road. They possibly thought there had been an accident. They stopped behind the car and it was then that they realised the occupants of the other car were staring up a nearby hill, looking intently at something. The Johnsons saw for themselves what it was. They all saw a large, hair-covered biped on the hillside. The biped stood a whopping 8 foot tall. They described it as having human like eyes and shape but the whole body was covered in dark brown hair. Behind them another car stopped, wondering what all the fuss was about. Seeing the strange creature they honked their horn. This sound started the figure and it bolted down the hill, over the road and jumped over the edge of a bridge. There was a ten foot drop over the other side. The Johnsons drove forward and stopped, watching closely as the ‘Bigfoot’ ran up the hillside opposite, running among the trees. Soon it had vanished. 
   The people who had this encounter on this day in 1991 are still as baffled about it today as they were then. The Johnsons reported their encounter to one Martin Jeffery, of Mystery Mag. He received a phonecall from the family, who he met with to discuss it openly. Martin described the family as quite normal, down to earth people. They did not come across as of unsound mind and they did not seek publicity. They described to him what happened and he was baffled. The father of the family gave the following details – “He/She was covered in long brown hair. It was shaggy but not dirty. The eyes looked normal, no different to ours. However it did walk differently, like it was crouching.”
   The “like it was crouching” description of its’ walk is interesting. This is how the Sasquatch of the U.S is described as moving. This is clearly how ‘Patty’ of the Patterson/Gimlin footage moves, sort of crouched over. 
   So did that group of people really see a Bigfoot, for want of a better description? It certainly seems like it. Mass hallucination is surely ruled out as an explanation. Martin Jeffery was certain that the Johnsons were telling the truth. So we do believe that this was a genuine encounter. In 1996 a group of friends reported witnessing a tall, dark figure in the trees. At the same time they also saw some small green lights. While we doubt the green lights were connected, it is interesting that yet another small group of people have reported a dark figure in this area. 
   So, is this a genuine British Bigfoot? It is hard to say without more witnesses coming forward. But these people have seen something and that something sounds very much like a big hairy man, a common phenomena that is being reported more and more in the British Isles.