Bill's Walks

Edmundbyers and the Derwent Reservoir

Distance: 10-11 miles

Map : OS Explorer 307 (Consett and Derwent Reservoir)

Start: Edmundbyers Village

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Edmundbyers is an attractive village with a large village green and a varied collection of old and new buildings. The oldest building is next to where we park and this is the church of St Edmunds after whom the village is named. This is a comparatively small church going back to Norman times which was much restored about 1850 and only the narrow windows in the south wall of the chancel are from Norman times. During the restoration, material from other churches was used from the Chapel of Bishop Auckland Castle, Durham Cathedral and as far away as Bristol for the panelling round the top of the church. The churchyard, with its shelter bank of trees is a pleasant place particularly when the spring flowers are out and the birds are active. One grave is particularly interesting as the occupant Elizabeth Lee who died in 1792 was reported to be the last of the long series of witches who lived hereabouts! Times must have become more enlightened as she was 87 when she died. The church history is partly maintained in the porch where all of the rectors going back to 1220 are listed.

Edmundbyers

Before leaving the village a walk around it is worthwhile, passing the Punch Bowl (now known as The Derwent Arms since 2022) to arrive at the site of what was the villages other pub which was called Low House. Since 1933 it has served as a Youth Hostel and is indeed the oldest hostel in the north of England. The building however goes back much further and records exist from 1772 and the building is also mentioned in the Muggleswick Plot from earlier times. Ann Elliot who lived here was murdered on the moor and although she was also buried in St Edmunds in 1785, her ghost reputedly haunts the hostel. She has never disturbed my sleep here on several visits but the Punch Bowl might well be the reason for that! The building passed into the ownership of Major Harry Barnes who was the Liberal MP for Newcastle East and it was him that sublet the building to the YHA. Inside the only remains of its former life as an inn is the beer rest where an enclave in the wall permitted patrons to put down their pint. Since 1933 the hostel has hosted around 200,000 bed nights and long may it continue. The Coast to Coast route has in recent years generated much needed income.

Edmundbyers YHA

We leave the village on the footpath on the other side of the road from the YHA, a shade to the west and take the footpath leading to Pow Hill Country Park established by Durham County Council around 30 years ago. This footpath which heads north over pasture has fine views down to the reservoir and over to Cronkley and sadly is not as well used as it should be. The possible reason is that there is no path leading out from Pow Hill westwards and it is a pity that a route could not be established to link up to Carricks Country Park and then on to Blanchland where there are many paths. On reaching Pow Hill you descend down to the waters edge of Derwent Reservoir. In earlier times this was not permitted but over the years the various Water Boards have opened up access. A new trail has recently been constructed along the reservoir to the dam and this can be considered a bridleway as mountain bikes and horses are permitted to use it. There is also a footpath along the waters edge which moves according to how full the reservoir is. Work started on the reservoir in 1960 and was completed in 1966. It is 3 miles long and covers a surface area of 1000 acres. The material for the earth dam was all excavated from the area now covered by the water. Additional water can be supplied from Kielder but this does not flow into the reservoir itself. When full the reservoir contains 11,000 million gallons of water. The water is well stocked and attracts 15,000 anglers per year which makes it the best attended still water in Europe.

Derwent Reservoir

We now cross the dam itself and arrive at the Northumberland side where there is another car park. In late afternoon on a sunny day look east for a good long distance view of Hownes Gill viaduct. Another new path has been constructed along the north side passing under Cronkley and terminating for the time being at Millshield and we take this in order to eliminate road walking and to get a view of one of the better areas of birdlife which congregate on that side. Some years ago there were about 40 geese on the water but this number is now about 1000, of both Canada and Greylag. All of the normal species are seen and occasionally there are rarer visitors such as Osprey. At Cronkley Farm the access road is picked up or the lake path can be continued to Millshield where the same access road is met. Whichever route is selected, it involves a return back down the reservoir at a higher level.

Just before Birkenside take the footpath on the right which is well waymarked and arrives at Redwell Hall Farm where refreshments can be obtained at weekends. Here the road is taken east to the byroad to Muggleswick. Shortly after crossing the River Derwent and after the farm, the footpath on the left heading south-east is taken over pastures and in just over half a mile you arrive at Muggleswick. The population of this parish reached 1,677 in the 1871 census but crashed to 483 in 1881 no doubt caused by the closure of some of the lead mines. The church was built in 1728 on the site of an ancient Christian site and as was the usual practice the old stones of the original structure were utilised. The monastic grange at Muggleswick has recently received restoration work from the North Pennines AONB team. This building was built about 1260 and it is rare to find standing remains of monastic buildings. The graveyard contains the remains of Edward Ward who was an outstanding physique although his size was not recorded. Nevertheless he could be Durham’s answer to Little John of Robin Hood fame!

Muggleswick Grange – monastic remains

As a point of interest, less than half a mile further down the footpath is the missing crossing over the Derwent. Photographs exist of the old bridge which was washed away many years ago and it still remains a contentious issue. The problems are that the bridge crossed a county boundary and the Durham side is a footpath whilst the Northumberland side is a bridleway. The answer would appear to be to change the status of one of the paths and then build an appropriate bridge but with current constraints this looks a long way ahead,

Another more possible project for the AONB and Northumbrian Water would be the improvement of the Quaker Burial Ground at Winnowshill on the Northumberland side where there are 55 internments. A short distance downstream from Muggleswick the Derwent enters a gorge which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a large oak wood. This is a good place to find redstarts and pied flycatchers but the site is not open to the public.

Muggleswick is also well known for the Muggleswick Plot which was of potential national importance. In a similar way to the Covenanters in Scotland this involved changes in religious practice but in the end came to nothing. Fuller details of this can be found in books, notably Iain Browns “The North Pennines – Legend and Landscape” which I highly recommend. There is also in the same book a story about the Mosstroopers who raided Muggleswick led by Willie of Shotlyngton near Bellingham. This place is now known as Shitlington and there is a small crag there as well as a farm at the Hall and bunkhouse accommodation on the Pennine Way. The raiders were pursued and defeated which led to their execution. Hard times indeed!

Muggleswick Common

On with the walk, we now take the path from Grange Farm past Calf Hall to arrive at the road which is followed past Haverley Lodge and Shield Farm to where the road turns sharp left to Hisehope Bridge and the clear track up Strawberry Hill onto Muggleswick Common is taken. This is a wonderful place with lovely views. At a crossroads of paths on Muggleswick Park (at GR 031495) take the path south-west down to Lamb Shiel Farm. Here in 1843 was another murder when William Lawson who lived there was murdered by his brother Thomas over a financial dispute. A wandering Irishman, probably looking for respite from decreasing potato harvests, was immediately arrested at Edmundbyers but fortunately a local policeman was suspicious of the brother and found the evidence hidden. Thomas was deported to Australia where he died soon afterwards. At Lamb Shiel the footpath to East Cot House can be taken and the path past Barkers Well and over the Burn Hope then followed to arrive back at the YHA. A slight extension can be made by following the paths to the west or walking over the moor to Harehope Hall and back down the road to the start.