Edmundbyers

Pow Hill Bog is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Wear Valley district of County Durham, England. It lies alongside Derwent Reservoir, approximately 2 km north-west of the village of Edmundbyers and adjacent to the Edmundbyers Common portion of the Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor SSSI. The site contains two types of mire, a valley mire and a soligenous mire, the former a scarce habitat in County Durham. There are also areas of heathland and semi-improved grassland, as well as small plantations of larch and spruce. The wetter parts of the valley mire are characterised by an abundance of bog mosses, Sphagnum spp, in association with species such as common cottongrass, Eriophorum angustifolium, star sedge, Carex echinata, and bog asphodel, Narthecium ossifragum. The drier areas are heathland, with heather, Calluna vulgaris, hare's-tail cottongrass, Eriophorum vaginatum, cross-leaved heath, Erica tetralix, and common sedge, Carex nigra. The soligenous mire is characterised by sharp-flowered rush, Juncus acutiflorus, and purple moor-grass, Molinia caerulea. Several local species are also present, including narrow-leaved buckler-fern, Dryopteris carthusiana, lesser skullcap, Scutellaria minor, and grass of Parnassus, Parnassia palustris. The site is located within the Pow Hill Country Park, a recreational area managed by Durham County Council.

Burnhope Burn is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Wear Valley district of north County Durham, England. It consists of a 12.6-acre (5.1 ha) area of woodland, carr, fen and mire in the valley of Burnhope Burn, just below the dam of the Derwent Reservoir, a mile (1.6 km) north-east of the village of Edmundbyers. It contains a range of habitats that are characteristic of poorly drained soils and that are rare or local in County Durham; such as smooth-stalked sedge (Carex levigata), bogbean (Menyanthes) and globeflower (Trollius). In a small basin-mire in the northern part of the site, there are abundant communities of a number of species that have a localised distribution elsewhere in the county.

The Derwent Reservoir is a reservoir on the River Derwent, on the border between County Durham and Northumberland, in England. It is west of Consett. It is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long) and covers an area of 4 km2 and has a maximum depth of 100 ft (30m) and when full, holds 11,000 million gallons (50,000,000m³).The reservoir is a key part of the water supply network in north east England (which is owned and managed by Northumbrian Water) as it is the principal water source for the Tyne and Wear metropolitan area supplying 28,000,000 imperial gallons (130,000,000 L; 34,000,000 US gal) per day. The reservoir was first proposed in 1957 when the Sunderland and South Shields Water Company promoted the Derwent Water Order. Building work began on the reservoir in 1960, and it was opened in July 1967 by Princess Alexandra. Unlike other reservoirs in Northern England that are flooded valleys with a dam head, Derwent was dug out of the ground and the earth removed was used in its dam head.The flow of the River Derwent can be supplemented, when necessary, by water transferred from the much larger Kielder Water in Northumberland. However, this connection cannot be used to increase the depth of the reservoir itself. Sediment within the reservoir has been found to contain elevated levels of zinc, lead and cadmium. These have drained into the reservoir from areas of historic mining activity around Blanchland. Consequently, populations of macroscopic plants in the reservoir are relatively low.Derwent Reservoir also hosts a sailing club Archived 21 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine, which holds many events throughout the year, including windsurfing, sailing, running and triathlons. The area around the reservoir hosts the annual Tour of the Reservoir cycle race.The reservoir also has hydro electric plant installed, with a rating of 97 kilowatts.

Muggleswick is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles to the west of Consett. the population was 130 at the 2001 Census reducing to 113 at the 2011 Census.The village has a number of farms and domestic dwellings as well as the Church of England church, generally accepted as dedicated to All Saints, and village hall (previously the school). Amenities other than that consist of the phone box with its adjacent litter bin. Agriculture is primarily sheep farming with some cattle and hay. Listed in the Boldon Book (1183).—“The Prior holds Muglyngwyc, as is expressed in his charter, as well of the Bishop's favour, as in exchange for Herdewic. And in Bishop Hatfield’s survey of c. 1382, “The Prior holds the manor of Mugliswyk in exchange for the vill of Herdwyk. The estate has remained ever since vested in the Church of Durham.” There are the ruins of a hunting lodge, or grange, for the Prior of Durham, which is a listed building. The monastic grange was built for the priors of Durham by Prior Hugh of Darlington, while he held office between 1258 and 1272, on what is thought to have been the site of an earlier grange. The grange lay within a deer park, which Prior Hugh was granted permission to enclose in 1259. The buildings of the grange were in use throughout the medieval period; a document of 1464 records that the buildings consisted of a hall, chapel, grange and a dairy. The names Priory Farm and Grange Farm testify to the influence of Durham as do the stone remains of the grange including a wall suggesting a three-storey building, described as "impressive" by Pevsner.The church (dedicated to All Saints) was built in 1259, probably as part of the grange. The present building dates from circa 1869. The Mayer tomb in the graveyard was made by the sculptor John Graham Lough. In 1663 the so-called Muggleswick Plot took place (also referred to as the Derwentdale Plot, and similar to the Farnley Wood Plot). John Ellrington, a servant of Lady Foster of Blanchland, informed the authorities that there were seditious meetings taking place in the area with a plot to overthrow the government, parliament and the church. Ellrington implicated over 30 people including some of the gentry. The information was false but showed the febrile political situation of the time. The plot was taken seriously and Bishop Cosin sent in the militia and nine people were arrested. The others escaped.John Carr, the schoolmaster and writer, was born in Muggleswick. In the United Kingdom Census 2001 the population of the village was 130 with 66 male and 64 femaleA significant area of the south and west of the village is taken up by Muggleswick Common, an area of upland moorland used for grouse rearing (and associated game (food) shooting) and sheep grazing. This area consists predominantly of heather with encroaching bracken. The Common is part of the Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), designated as such by Natural England for its habitat diversity and the presence of a range of plant and bird species of national and international importance.To the east, the village is bordered by the Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine SSSI. This area has been classified as such due to the range of plant species and areas that have remained free from human interference.

Carterway Heads is a hamlet in Northumberland, England. It is situated between Consett and the Derwent Reservoir, at the intersection of the A68 and B6278 roads.

Minsteracres is an 18th-century mansion house, now a Christian retreat centre, in Northumberland, England. It is a Grade II listed building.The house was built in 1758 by George Silvertop. Originally erected with two storeys, a third storey was added in 1811 and a new North wing was built in 1865.The Silvertops were a Roman Catholic family. George Silvertop was in 1831 the first Catholic appointed High Sheriff of Northumberland following the repeal of the penal law. His nephew Henry Charles Silvertop, High Sheriff in 1859 built a Catholic chapel adjoining the hall, and dedicated to St Elizabeth of Hungary in 1854. The chapel is a Grade II listed building.The Silvertop family sold the House in 1949 for conversion to a Passionist Monastery. A retreat house was opened in 1967, and in the 1970s links were established with the Selly Park sisters and the Sisters of Mercy from Sunderland. Since 2012 Minsteracres has been run by a charitable trust on behalf of the Passionist community. It describes itself as a "Christian place of prayer with a resident community rooted in the Roman Catholic Passionist tradition".In the early 1960s Consett artist Sheila Mackie painted two large murals Agony in the Garden and The Conversion of Saul, each 40 feet (12 m) by 12 feet (3.7 m) for the Minsteracres retreat house; they were known to still exist in 2010 and are listed in the database PostWar Murals Database, last updated 2013.The east and west lodges, stable block, entrance screen with flanking walls and a group of farm buildings are all separately grade II listed.

Derwent Gorge and Horsleyhope Ravine is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Derwentside district of north County Durham and the Tynedale district of south Northumberland, England. It consists of two separate areas of woodland, one in the gorge of the River Derwent and the other in the ravine of its tributary, the Horsleyhope Burn, south-east of the village of Muggleswick. On the dry acidic soils of the upper slopes, the woodland is dominated by sessile oak, Quercus petraea. Some areas have been coppiced in the past but where the slopes are steepest, and least accessible, there appears to have been no human interference.

St Andrew's Church, Shotley, is a redundant Anglican church standing in an isolated position at a height of 960 feet (293 m) on Greymare Hill in Northumberland, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building, and is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

Slaley Hall is a country house golf resort in Northumberland in North East England, built by local developers Seamus O'Carroll and John Rourke which hosted The Great North Open between 1996 and 2002. It is surrounded by 1000 acres (4 km²) of Northumberland forest and moorland. It also hosts Weddings, Anniversaries, Parties and Business events in the hotel run by the QHotels Group. It has many facilities including an indoor swimming pool, beauty salon, steam room, sauna, gym, sun beds, jacuzzi, and driving range. The England Football team have stayed at Slaley Hall for fixtures in the North East of England.The grounds include the Japanese Garden, a rare surviving example of a rock garden. It was designed and laid out before the First World War.

Colpitts Grange is a hamlet in Northumberland, England. It is about 7 miles (11 km) to the south-east of Hexham.

Healey is a rural estate and civil parish in Northumberland, England, situated between Riding Mill to the north and Slaley to the south. The neo-Norman St John's Parish Church, which was built in 1860, was awarded the 2011 Art in a Religious Context award for its windows by Anne Vibeke Mou and James Hugonin. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 194, falling slightly to 191 at the 2011 Census.Originally part of the barony of Baliol, Healey was given over to the Knights Templars in the 1260s (hence the area sometimes referred to as Temple Healey). With the suppression of the Templars the land passed to the monarch in 1308 and then shortly after to the Knight Hospitallars. At the dissolution the land returned to the monarch. By the early 1600s the area was held by the Sanderson family. In 1816 the land was sold to Robert Ormston of Newcastle. His son, also called Robert, took down the remains of the peel house and built Healey Hall. A chapel of ease, St John’s, was built in 1860 to designs by Major C.E. Davis of Bath. The west tower was added in 1890.The vicarage was built in 1877 from designs by Ewan Christian.

Snods Edge is a small hamlet in South Northumberland, about 4 miles (6 km) from Consett. The name is thought to have derived from "snow's edge", referring to the hamlet's close proximity (about 5 km or 3 mi) to the North Pennines.