Mere Beck Meadows

Hury Reservoir is a reservoir in County Durham, England situated in Baldersdale. The reservoir is located about four miles south of Middleton-in-Teesdale and about three miles west of Cotherstone. It supplies water for Teesdale and is owned by Northumbrian Water. It gets its name from the nearby village of Hury. It is almost adjoined to Blackton Reservoir to the immediate west. The dam 'bridges' the River Balder which flows in an easterly direction to meet the River Tees at Cotherstone. Hury Reservoir was under construction in 1891–92.

Botany Hill, formerly known as Botany Quarry, is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Teesdale district of south-west County Durham, England. It occupies a position on both sides of How Gill, just under 1 km north of the village of Hury, in Baldersdale. The site is important as the type locality of the Botany Limestone, a widespread marker horizon that is key to an understanding of the stratigraphy of the Namurian sediments of the North Pennines and Northumberland Trough.

East Briscoe is a village in Baldersdale, in the Pennines district of County Durham, England. It is traditionally located in the North Riding of Yorkshire but along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District it was transferred to County Durham for administrative and ceremonial purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.

God's Bridge is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the County Durham district of south-west County Durham, England. It is a natural limestone bridge over the River Greta, just over 3 km upstream from the village of Bowes. The bridge was formed by a process of cave development in the limestone beneath the river bed and is the best example in Britain of a natural bridge formed in this way. The SSSI covers a portion of the river above and below the bridge where shallow cave development by solutional activity is still taking place. The Pennine Way crosses the River Greta at God's Bridge.

Hunderthwaite is a village and civil parish in Teesdale, in the Pennines of England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 114. It was historically located in the North Riding of Yorkshire but along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District it was transferred to County Durham for administrative and ceremonial purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.Gok Wan, the British fashion consultant, author and television presenter of British Chinese heritage is a resident of Hunderthwaite. Etymologically speaking, Hunderthwaite is derived most plausibly from Old Norse Hunrothr-þveit, meaning 'Hunrothr's clearing'. The first element in the name could also be Old English hundred, a type of administrative division.

RAF Bowes Moor was a chemical warfare agent (CWA) storage site run by the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War. The site was to the north of the village of Bowes in what is now County Durham, England. The Bowes Moor geographical feature runs from the north to the south west of the village. The Royal Air Force used the site to stock its chemical weapon supply, most of which was disposed of in situ by burning. The site, which closed in 1947, is known for the dangerous chemicals which leached into the soil. The only unit to have officially worked at Bowes Moor was No. 81 Maintenance Unit RAF (1941–1947). The Bowes Loop of the Pennine Way goes through the site.

Sleightholme Beck Gorge – The Troughs is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the County Durham district of south-west County Durham, England. The site covers a gorge in the valley of Sleightholme Beck between the hamlet of Sleightholme and the confluence with the River Greta, some 3 km upriver from the village of Bowes. The trough is 200m east of the border with Wytham Moor, part of the neighbouring Bowes Moor SSSI. The site has both biological and geological interest and has been designated of national importance in the Geological Conservation Review. The gorge is incised through the Namurian Great Limestone and is of particular interest because beds of sandstone in the middle of the section show structures characteristic of a shoreline, with the features of a river delta and barrier bar. The shallow soils that have developed on ledges and crevices in the limestone and on the scree slopes support a vegetation in which ferns such as maidenhair spleenwort, Asplenium trichomanes, green spleenwort, A. viride, and brittle bladder fern, Cystopteris fragilis, are prominent. Woodland plants such as wood sorrel, Oxalis acetosella, wood millet, Milium effusum, and dog's mercury, Mercurialis perennis, have established themselves in the shadier crevices, while rue-leaved saxifrage, Saxifraga tridactylites, shining cranesbill Geranium lucidum, and common whitlow grass, Erophila verna, occur in the most exposed situations. On the most inaccessible valley slopes, there is open woodland in which yew, Taxus baccata, is abundant. Dipper and common sandpiper have been recorded from the site and probably breed in the area.

Baldersdale Woodlands is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham, England. It consists primarily of ancient, semi-natural woodland growing on steep valley slopes, including scree, on both banks of the River Balder over a stretch of some 3 km, upstream (i.e. west) of the village of Cotherstone. The site has a rich faunal assemblage and the woodland and associated stretch of the river is home to a variety of birds, including dipper and goosander. In part, the site derives its importance from the proximity of similarly protected sites in other valleys in the River Tees catchment area; the Shipley and Great Woods SSSI occupies a similar position in the valley of the Tees immediately north of Cotherstone. The condition of the site was last assessed by Natural England in September 2009, when it was mostly rated as "favourable"; a small area, just over 10 percent of the total area, is suffering from cattle grazing but was rated as "recovering".

Balder Viaduct is a former railway bridge near to the village of Cotherstone, in County Durham, England. The viaduct was part of the Tees Valley Railway between Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale. It was opened in 1868 and closed in 1965. When it was open as a railway, the viaduct was in the old North Riding of Yorkshire. The viaduct is now open to walkers as part of the Tees Valley Railway Walk.

Romaldkirk railway station was situated on the Tees Valley Railway between Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale. It served the village of Romaldkirk. The line opened to passenger traffic on 13 May 1868, but Romaldkirk station had not been completed by then. Construction was reported as being nearly completed in mid June 1869 The station was host to a LNER camping coach from 1936 to 1939 and possibly one for some of 1934. The line and station closed to passengers on 30 November 1964 and completely on 5 April 1965.

Romaldkirk is a village in Teesdale, in the Pennines of England. The village lies within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, but has been administered by County Durham since 1974. It is thought that the name might be derived from St. Rumwold (also spelt Romald or Rumbold), a little-known Saxon saint who is said to have preached the Gospel after his baptism as an infant; his resting place is recorded as being in Buckingham. The village was formerly served by Romaldkirk railway station. Thomas Page, the engineer, grew up in Romaldkirk. The architects Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew, and famous farmer Hannah Hauxwell are buried near the village church. The church is a Grade I listed building, containing surviving sections of Anglo-Saxon walls either side of the chancel arch, as well as a late medieval rood stair, a stone tomb effigy of Hugh Fitz Henry (who died on campaign with Edward I in 1305) in chain mail, a 12th-century font, and a pulpit (originally part of a three decker) from the early 18th century.

Bowes Castle is a medieval castle in the village of Bowes in County Durham, England. Built within the perimeter of the former Roman fort of Lavatrae, on the Roman road that is now the A66, the early timber castle on the site was replaced by a more substantial stone structure between 1170 and 1174 on the orders of Henry II. A planned village was built alongside the castle. Bowes Castle withstood Scottish attack during the Great Revolt of 1173–74 but was successfully looted by rebels in 1322. The castle went into decline and was largely dismantled after the English Civil War. The ruins are now owned by English Heritage and managed as a tourist attraction. There is free admission during daylight hours.