8.91 miles
Explorer Map OL31, - North Pennines (Teesdale and Weardale)
Choose a day with good visibility and you will be rewarded with
some superb views.
The scenery is a mixture of the remote farms on the shores of
the rservoirs in Baldersdale, the reesrvoirs themselves, and the
omni-present Goldsborough Hill.
The paths are easy to follow, and present little difficulty. In
one spot, at the Western end of the Hury Reservoir, there is a
steep descent. Also, on the final leg there is a steep descent
down to the How Beck. But these descents are easily manageable
by a fit person.
Cotherstone Moor, under Goldsborough Hill, can be a bit bleak
and a knowledge of map reading is fairly essential for this section
of the walk.
For a Memory Map overlay of the walk described, please select the
above link.
(Overlay made with Version 5 of Memory
Map)
Some new mapping software is now available which you may want to try, - QUO mapping. You can download the software for free from the link below, complete with demonstration maps. Having installed QUO, you can import and export Memory Map overlays. Thus YOU DON'T NEED Memory Map to use any of the overlays provided on the Grey Panthers website, - just use QUO!!
Start Point : The car park at the South Eastern end
of the Hury Reservoir (NY96626 19246).
Cross the dam at the Eastern end of the reservoir. At the Northern
end, turn left through the field gate and follow the shore path along
the North shore of the Reservoir.
Follow the path ALL the way round the North shore of the Hury Reservoir.
When you reach the small reservoir with no name, follow the path upwards
and through a wall at the Eastern end of the Blackton Reservoir.
Continue Westwards on field footpaths to Birk Hatt Farm.
Here turn right and walk a short distance Northwards on the Pennine
Way to visit Hannah's Meadows.
Retrace your steps, and continue on the Pennine Way to Blackton Bridge.
Just past the bridge turn right along a track, through the yard of
a hostel, and onwards to the Balderhead Resrvoir.
Retrace yoiur steps to the Pennine Way again.
Just after the Pennine Way crosses a small beck, take the signposted
Pennine Way footpath to East Friar House Farm.
There are plenty of waymarks to help keep you on course.
At East Friar House Farm, turn sharp right and take the farm track
to the minor road.
Here turn left and after a short distance take the footpath that crosses
Cotherstone Moor under Goldsborough Hill.
A short detour enable you to climb the hill.
Continue along the footpath until you reach a footbrige that crosses
the How Beck. Cross the beck and continue for about 100 yards. Where
there is a marker post, turn sharp left and follow the faint footpath
to the field wall where there are Military warning signs.
Continue on the footpath in a North Easterly direction, until, on
your left, there is a small stile (with a waymark) that indicates
the footpath down to the How Beck.
Cross the How Beck, and then take the footpath North to West Briscoe
Farm and the Hury Reservoir car park.