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Middleton in Teesdale - Hills and Reservoir Walk

7.1 miles (11.5 km)

Ordnance Survey Map Open Streetmap This market town in County Durham is positioned in a scenic area in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). You can explore the area on the Pennine Way long distance trail which runs past the town.
The river Tees also runs through the area with the Teesdale Way another great option for walkers.
This walk picks up a nice section of the Pennine Way to take you to the nearby Grassholme and Selset Reservoirs.
On the way you'll pass Kirkcarrion, an eye-catching clump of trees surmounting a rocky hill overlooking the Brough to Middleton-in-Teesdale road. You'll also skirt the south-eastern flank of Harter Fell which reaches a height of 481 metres about 1 km north of the hamlet of Thringarth. There's fine views over the AONB from the high points.
The final section takes you through pretty Lunedale, finishing at Grassholme Reservoir. There's a circular footpath here around the water which is surrounded by the lovely Lune Valley countryside and woodland.
To extend the walk you could continue along the Pennine Way to the Balderhead, Blackton and Hury Reservoirs.
You could also follow the River Tees West and visit High Force Waterfall. It's one of the biggest waterfalls in England and a spectacular sight with the water dropping 70 feet (21m) into a plunge pool below.
Just to the west of High Force you can visit Cow Green Reservoir and Cauldron Snout Waterfall.

Middleton in Teesdale OS Map Ordnance survey map - Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking

Middleton in Teesdale Open Street Map Open Streetmap - Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking

Further Information and Other Local Ideas

For more walking ideas in the area see the County Durham Walks and the North Pennines Walks pages.

Photos

Autumn on the river Tees - geograph.org.uk - 1541903

Autumn on the river Tees

Pennine Way - geograph.org.uk - 454685

Pennine Way

Kirkcarrion - geograph.org.uk - 1230209

Kirkcarrion

Rough Grazing - geograph.org.uk - 454761

Rough Grazing

Track leading to B6276 - geograph.org.uk - 455294

Track leading to B6276

Wythes Hill - geograph.org.uk - 454812

Wythes Hill

Bridge at Head of Grassholme Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 623681

Bridge at Head of Grassholme Reservoir

Grassholme Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 1342192

Grassholme Reservoir

Video

GPS Files

GPX File

Middleton in Teesdale.gpx (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold>Download Linked File)

Memory Map Route

Middleton in Teesdale.mmo (On Desktop:Right Click>Save As. On Ipad/Iphone:Click and hold >Download Linked File)