Derwentside

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.

The Pontop Pike transmitting station is a facility for telecommunications and broadcasting situated on a 312-metre (1,024-ft) high hill of the same name between Stanley and Consett, County Durham, near the village of Dipton, England. The mast is 149 metres (489 ft) high, giving an average antenna height of 461 metres (1,512 ft) above sea level. It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Annfield Plain railway station was in County Durham in Northern England, on the original south section of the industrial Stanhope and Tyne Railway, which diverged from the East Coast Main Line south of Newcastle.

West Kyo (also known locally as Old Kyo) is a small village in County Durham, England, United Kingdom. The name 'kyo' is derived from an old word for 'cow'. It is situated a very short distance to the north of Annfield Plain and to the east of Catchgate. Close by are East Kyo and to the north, Harperley. The nearest large town is Stanley. The skyline is dominated by the Pontop Pike Television Transmitter to the northwest. The main landmark of the village is the Earl Grey Inn public house, with an internal decor of wooden beams and whitewash walls. This pub is reputed to be haunted by a ghost called 'The Grey Lady', a former landlady who died in the 19th century. Another former landlord also placed five and ten pence pieces in gaps within the wooden beams during the 1990s, some of which are still being found to this day. The pub is known locally for a quiz night on Thursdays and karaoke on Saturdays. The village developed during former periods of heavy coal mining in the area during the 19th century and a gas works used to be situated on its northern edge. A period of substantial decline followed during the 20th century, during which the village lost a school, a local shop and a second public house called The Rose Cottage, which had an 'ale only' licence (now converted to a house). New developments starting in the late 1980s onwards have, however, seen a recent expansion in the village in terms of size and population.

'Green Croft and Langley Moor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the Derwentside district in north County Durham, England. It consists of three separate areas, two to the south of Annfield Plain and one just west of Quaking Houses, between the towns of Consett, to the west, and Stanley, to the east. All three locations contain areas of heath and mire, habitats that are, except at Waldridge Fell, rare and fragmented in lowland Durham. At Langley Moor there is an area of woodland which is dominated by downy birch, Betula pubescens, with some sessile oak, Quercus petraea. Apart from its importance for habitat conservation, the site also includes some small ponds, which support a breeding population of great crested newts, Triturus cristatus, and a dragonfly, the black darter, Sympetrum danae, which is rare in north-east England. The great crested newt is a European Protected Species and one of only three amphibians that are protected under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan.