Pontop Pike transmitting station

Derwentside was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in County Durham, England. The district took its name from the River Derwent, which made up part of the northern border of the district. Its main towns were Consett and Stanley, with the district council offices on Consett's Medomsley Road. The rest of the district was semi-rural, with numerous former pit villages running into one another.

Stony Heap is a hamlet in County Durham, in England. It is situated between Leadgate and Annfield Plain. There used to be 6 houses and 2 farms plus the pit, now there is 1 house and 1 farm.

Harelaw is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north of Annfield Plain.

Catchgate is a former mining village in County Durham, England. It has a population of approximately 3,000 people. Its nearest town is Stanley, also a former coal mining community. The town of Consett, once famous for its steel works, is 5 miles (8.0 km) away. It is bordered by the villages of Greencroft to the west, Annfield Plain to the south, Harelaw to the north, and West Kyo (also known as Old Kyo) to the east. Also once to the west of Catchgate was Pontop village, now no more than a few bungalows, dominated by the enormous Pontop Pike television and radio transmitter.

Dipton is a village located in County Durham, England. It is situated to the north-east of Consett, 3 miles south west of Burnopfield and a short distance to the north-west of Annfield Plain. The local village school is called Collierley Primary School. Very little housing development occurred in the 1980s, but new housing estates have been built in the village over the last 10 years, which in turn have sustained a younger generation of villagers. The Parish Church was dedicated to St John the Evangelist, but is now closed and is in the process of being converted into a house. It is close to the Pontop Pike Television Transmitter.

Hamsterley Hall is an 18th-century English country house at Hamsterley, Rowlands Gill, County Durham, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. The estate at Hamsterley was given, in 1762, by Sir John Swinburne Bt to his younger brother Henry Swinburne. In 1769, Henry carried out substantial alterations to the then existing house to create the present two-story, four-bayed castellated Gothic Revival-style mansion. Swinburne died in 1803 and in 1806 the property was sold to Anthony Surtees. His son Robert Smith Surtees, a novelist, acquired the estate in 1838. He was High Sheriff of Durham in 1856. He died in 1864, leaving his estate to his daughter Eleanor, who married John Gage Prendergast Vereker, 5th Viscount Gort in 1885. Their first son John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort VC was succeeded in 1946 by his brother Standish Vereker, 7th Viscount MC who lived at Hamsterley until his death in 1975.

Flint Hill is a small village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north of Annfield Plain.

Hill Top is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated to the west of Tantobie, near Stanley.

Greencroft is a village in County Durham, England. The population of the civil parish (which doesn't include the village) taken at the 2011 census was 171. It is situated between Lanchester and Annfield Plain.

Leadgate railway station served the village of Leadgate, County Durham, England, from 1896 to 1964 on the Stanhope and Tyne Railway.

Hamsterley Mill is a village in County Durham, around 3 miles from Burnopfield and approximately the same distance from Consett.

Annfield Plain is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated on a plateau between the towns of Stanley, 4 km (2.5 mi) to the north-east, and Consett, 8 km (5.0 mi) to the west. According to the 2001 census, Annfield Plain has a population of 3,569. By the time of the 2011 Census Annfield Plain had become a ward of Stanley parish. The ward had a population of 7,774. Along with much of the surrounding area, Annfield Plain's history lies in coal mining. While the industry collapsed in the 1980s and 90s, its effects are still apparent both in the landscape and in folk memory. Much of the surrounding landscape is rough moorland, dominated by the nearby Pontop Pike television mast. Not far from semi-rural Derwentside, however, is the Tyneside–Wearside conurbation, with Newcastle 20 km (12 mi) away, and Sunderland a similar distance. The cathedral city of Durham is 16 km (9.9 mi) away and offers quite a contrast to the former pit villages in the area of Annfield Plain.