We are the Chester-le-Street Ramblers. We open the way for everyone in our local community to enjoy the pleasures of walking.
Hury/Cotherstone/Romaldkirk
Please note the slightly earlier Meeting Point time of 09.45 at Chester le Street to allow for the longer drive
This is a moderate circular route of 9.6 miles. We start from the car park at the NE corner of Hury Reservoir. We walk on the the path over the top of the dam, to reach the S side of the water, and then head out E through Baldersdale, on a mixture of footpaths and moorland tracks, towards Cotherstone. As we leave the moor, the path over fields crosses through a number of stiles. We will take a short snack break at Cotherstone, which is just under 4 miles into the route. We leave the village on an elevated path, that looks over the river, where the Balder meets the Tees, and descend down some steep steps, to river path level. The Teesdale Way path now continues in a NW direction, close to the river and across fields to the pretty village of Romaldkirk. We will be 6 miles into the route and will take a lunch break here. After lunch, we leave the village in a S direction and walk a short section of the Tees Railway Path. As we leave this trail, we pick up a footpath, initially over farm track - and then over fields - in a W direction, back to the start point. The distinctive shaped hills of Goldsborough and Shacklesborough are clearly in view, during this section.
NB - as much of this walk is over farmland and there are many sheep with their newborn lambs in the fields, I am advising against bringing dogs on this walk. Most of the climbing on this route is relatively gentle but sticks may be handy for some short, steeper sections.
A shorter walk will also kindly be made available by Dave Marshall.
Directions from Chester le Street:-
A167 S to Croxdale; B6288 S through Tudhoe; A688 W to Barnard Castle; A67 SW through Barnard Castle and over the river; B6277 NW to Cotherstone; at the N end of Cotherstone, take a minor, single track road on your left, marked for East Briscoe and Hury Reservoir; follow this road through S Baldersdale for approx 2.5 miles - at this point, IGNORE the left turn marked for Hury and Blackton Reservoirs - and continue on the same road, down a steep hill and over a bridge; the road now climbs up, with the dam visible on your left and you will shortly see a left turn for the Hury Reservoir car park on the NE corner of the reservoir; there are a few parking spaces on your left just after passing over the cattle grid, but if you drive ahead, there is a larger car park, with more spaces.
09.35 to meet and 09.45 to leave at the old Civic Centre car park, Chester le Street, DH3 3UA
10.55 at the car park for Hury Reservoir, which is at the NE corner. There is no specific postcode for this location, and that for the nearest farm would not be really helpful for satnav directions, so please see my suggested directions below or see the attached screenshot of the map which has a dropped pin for the car park and a grid reference number, or use this What3Words reference ///whoever.spooked.crank
