Hury Reservoir, Baldersdale
Hury Reservoir is one of those places we come to when we don't really want anything complicated. Somewhere quiet, a bit of space, a walk beside the water and somewhere to sit for a while without feeling like we need to rush off to the next place.
Sitting in Baldersdale between Cotherstone and the higher ground towards Balderhead, Hury is surrounded by open fields, moorland and big Teesdale skies. There are picnic benches near the reservoir, paths around the water and plenty of places where you can simply stop and enjoy the view.
But Hury gets much more interesting once you start looking beyond the water.
An old corn mill once stood below the dam. An eighteenth-century stone bridge still carries the road across the River Balder. Ruined farm buildings sit beside the footpaths, prehistoric markings survive on rock further up the valley and the reservoir itself is part of a much bigger Victorian story that completely changed Baldersdale.
You can come here for a quiet walk and a picnic. You can just as easily end up wanting to know what was here before the water.
⚠️ Discover Teesdale Update
Hury Reservoir looks very different at the moment. Major improvement works are under way and the reservoir has been heavily drawn down, with temporary changes to some paths and parking. Although there is much less water than usual, it has created a fascinating opportunity to see parts of the old landscape that normally lie beneath the reservoir.
You can follow the latest access information, see photographs of the drawdown and find out what we've uncovered on our Hury Reservoir Drawdown and Improvement Works page.
Quick Facts
Location: Hury, Baldersdale, Teesdale, County Durham
Parking postcode we use: DL12 9UR
Recommended approach: From the B6277 at Romaldkirk, through Hunderthwaite towards Hury
River: River Balder
Reservoir operational: 1892
Engineer: James Mansergh
Original contractor: Walter Scott & Company of Newcastle
Walking: Circular reservoir walk with longer routes into Baldersdale
Facilities: Parking and picnic benches
Swimming: Not permitted
Dogs: A lovely place for a dog walk, but keep dogs under proper control around livestock
Good for: Gentle walking, picnics, history, photography, wildlife and getting away somewhere quiet
Parking at Hury Reservoir and the route we recommend
This is one of those places where knowing which road to take makes quite a difference.
For the parking area we use at Hury Reservoir, we recommend putting DL12 9UR into your sat nav.
There are decent-sized car parks on both the north and south sides of Hury Reservoir, so there is normally a good amount of parking available. The two car parks also give you a choice of where to start your walk around the reservoir.
You can approach Hury from either Cotherstone or Romaldkirk, and both eventually bring you into Baldersdale. We have driven both and, if you don't know the area, we much prefer coming in from the Romaldkirk side.
From the B6277 at Romaldkirk, head towards Hunderthwaite and follow the road towards Hury. It is still a country lane and you should expect narrow sections, but there are considerably more opportunities to pass oncoming traffic.
The Cotherstone route works too, but the road becomes very narrow in places and there are fewer passing places. If we were sending somebody to Hury for the first time, we'd send them through Romaldkirk.
The story behind Hury Reservoir
Hury belongs to a period when the landscape of Teesdale was being used to solve a problem many miles away.
Growing towns and industries on Teesside needed a dependable supply of clean water, and the valleys of the River Lune and River Balder became part of the answer. Hury was one of the reservoirs created on the Balder, with Blackton later sitting immediately upstream and Balderhead eventually completing the chain much further west.
Work on Hury transformed this part of Baldersdale during the 1880s. The reservoir was designed by James Mansergh, with Walter Scott & Company carrying out the construction. It was a huge undertaking in a landscape that had previously been farms, fields, roads and the winding course of the River Balder.
By 1892, water was filling Hury.
What makes the story especially interesting to us isn't simply the engineering. It's what happened to the landscape underneath it. The mill disappeared. Land was bought. Old routes changed. The river valley became a reservoir.
Yet pieces of the older Hury survived around its edges.
That's why we've given the History of Hury Reservoir its own page. Once we started researching it properly, a couple of paragraphs here were never going to do it justice.
Walking at Hury Reservoir
You don't need to come to Hury for a huge hike. That's part of its appeal.
The paths around the reservoir make it a lovely place for a slower walk, with the water beside you and open countryside stretching away on both sides. There are sections where you can see almost the whole reservoir laid out in front of you, then quieter corners where trees, old walls and buildings begin to hide the water again.
It is also very easy to make the walk longer. Hury leads naturally west towards Blackton Reservoir, and beyond that the valley continues towards Balderhead Reservoir. What starts as a gentle wander around Hury can become a much bigger exploration of Baldersdale.
Conditions underfoot vary and this is still countryside rather than a surfaced park. After wet weather, expect mud and wet grass in places and come with sensible footwear.
Our walk around Hury Reservoir
This is the route we followed around Hury Reservoir. We like it because it keeps you close to the water while giving you plenty of chances to stop and enjoy the views rather than simply marching around as quickly as possible.
More than just a reservoir
The first few times you visit, it's easy to see the reservoir, the dam, the fields and the surrounding hills and leave it at that. Once we started digging into the history, we realised just how much is packed into this relatively small corner of Baldersdale.
Before the reservoir there was a very different valley here. The River Balder ran through farmland where families lived and worked, and immediately upstream of the old bridge stood Hury Mill, a water-powered corn mill that we can definitely trace back to 1741.
The mill disappeared as the reservoir works transformed this end of Baldersdale during the 1880s, but Hury Mill Bridge survived. More than two centuries after it was built, traffic still crosses that little stone bridge below the huge Victorian reservoir that came later.
Further west from the Hury north car park is Yew Tree Farm. Follow the public footpath and you'll eventually reach the old farmstead amongst the trees, where the remains of the farmhouse and other buildings are still there to explore from the path.
And the story around Hury goes back much further than mills, farms and Victorian engineering. Continue west towards Blackton and you're entering a landscape where prehistoric rock art has also been recorded.
That's what makes Hury so interesting to us. What looks at first like a quiet reservoir in Baldersdale starts to become something completely different once you know what you're looking at.
We've spent a lot of time researching and exploring the stories around Hury, and each one has turned out to be worth much more than a paragraph here. Below you'll find our in-depth pages covering the reservoir's history, Hury Mill, Hury Mill Bridge, Yew Tree Farm, the prehistoric rock art between Hury and Blackton and the major improvement works taking place at Hury today.
History of Hury Reservoir
Hury Reservoir completely changed this part of Baldersdale. Its story stretches from the first plans and land purchases through difficult years of construction to the filling of the reservoir in 1892. We've followed the records to piece together how Hury was built, why it was needed and what happened to the landscape that was here before the water.
Hury Mill
Long before Hury Reservoir existed, a water-powered corn mill stood beside the River Balder. Hury Mill can definitely be traced back to 1741, with a possible earlier reference from 1735. We've followed its story through old records and maps to find out what stood here, who was connected with it and what happened when the reservoir arrived.
Hury Mill Bridge
Just below the reservoir, this little eighteenth-century stone bridge is one of the pieces of old Hury that survived. It once stood beside Hury Mill and carried the road across the River Balder long before the dam existed. More than two centuries later, the bridge is still here and still carrying traffic across the river.
Yew Tree Farm, Hury
West from the Hury north car park, the public footpath leads to the remains of Yew Tree Farm amongst the trees. The old farmhouse, outbuildings and a second smaller house survive as part of a much older Hury landscape. We've explored the ruins and followed the records to uncover what we can about Yew Tree and its intriguing connection with Walker Hall.
Blackton Reservoir Rock Art
Between Hury and Blackton reservoirs in Baldersdale, a recorded prehistoric rock art site survives on exposed bedrock beside Mere Beck. We went looking for it ourselves and found two rounded markings still visible amongst the moss and grass, part of a human story in this landscape that reaches back thousands of years.
Hury Reservoir Drawdown and Improvement Works
Hury Reservoir looks dramatically different at the moment. A £15 million programme of improvement work has brought a major drawdown, exposing parts of the old valley floor that normally lie beneath the water. We've followed the project, photographed the changing reservoir and put together what is happening, why the work is needed and what it means for visitors.
Around Hury Reservoir
Visiting Hury Reservoir
Hury is a working reservoir as well as a lovely place to walk, so there are a few things worth knowing before you visit.
There are picnic benches around the reservoir, making it an easy place to bring some lunch or a flask and spend a couple of hours without needing to plan a big walk. This is open countryside, though, so come prepared for Teesdale weather and expect paths to be wet or muddy after rain.
Dogs are welcome for a walk, but much of the surrounding land is working farmland. Keep them under proper control, use a lead around livestock and follow any signs you find along the route.
Swimming isn't permitted at Hury Reservoir. However calm the water looks, this is working water infrastructure and there can be hazards below the surface that aren't obvious from the bank.
Hury is currently undergoing major improvement work, so temporary changes to parking, paths and access are possible. We've kept all of the changing information together on our Hury Reservoir Drawdown and Improvement Works page rather than filling this main guide with details that will eventually be out of date.
Fishing at Hury Reservoir
Hury Reservoir is also a popular spot for fly fishing and is normally operated as a fly-only fishery for rainbow trout. There are fishing areas around both sides of the reservoir, including accessible fishing close to the dam on the north side.
Fishing at Hury Reservoir is currently closed while the ongoing improvement works take place. If you're planning a fishing trip, check the latest information before travelling as access and reopening dates may change.
While Hury is closed, there are other places to fish nearby in Teesdale. Grassholme Reservoir has fishing and a small tackle shop at the visitor centre, while Cow Green Reservoir is another option and permits can be booked online.
For current opening information, permits and fishing rules, check the official Waterside Parks fishing information before travelling.
A place to slow down
For all the history we've uncovered around Hury, one of the biggest reasons we keep coming back is much simpler. It's peaceful.
You don't need a big plan for this one. Take the dog for a walk, bring a flask, find somewhere to sit and watch the reservoir for a while. On a quiet day there isn't much here demanding your attention, and that's exactly why we like it.
Then, once you start noticing the older landscape around you, Hury becomes even better. The little stone bridge below the dam was here before the reservoir. A corn mill once stood beside it. Old farm buildings survive further along the water and prehistoric markings take the story back thousands of years.
Hury is peaceful without being empty. There is always something else to notice if you give yourself time to look.
Explore more in Teesdale
If you've enjoyed Hury, keep following the River Balder west and you'll soon reach Blackton Reservoir and then Balderhead Reservoir further into Baldersdale.
You can also explore our full Reservoirs of Teesdale guide, including Grassholme, Selset and Cow Green, or head back to Discover Teesdale for more walks, history and places to explore across the dale.
If you're staying into the evening, have a look at our Dark Skies of Teesdale guide too. And if you're heading back towards town, our Barnard Castle Town Guide has everything we've put together for exploring Barnard Castle.