Best Osmotherley walk, via Cod Beck Reservoir & the Cleveland Way in North Yorkshire

This is a superb circular walk from Osmotherley. It's quite varied and half of it is on the Cleveland Way with some excellent views and it also passes the popular Cod Beck reservoir. Being a fella from Teesside it's my favourite local "go-to" walk where I enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside :-)

My best Osmotherley Circular Walk via Cod Beck Reservoir on the Cleveland Way, just off the A19 near TEESSIDE:

This is a nice little circular walk on varied terrain, with some excellent views. It's nearly 5 miles so may take about 2 hours and whilst most of it is fairly flat - there is an uphill section for about 300m. I'd say it's suitable for kids 7+. The walk starts and finishes in Osmotherley in North Yorkshire, which is a lovely little village (with good pubs :-), and whilst you feel like you are smack bang in the countryside, Osmotherley is only 5 minutes off the A19 so is really accessible by car for those from nearby Teesside.

Most visitors to this area simply come to have a stroll around Cod Beck Reservoir, but this walk is a good way to add a bit more distance to your walk and escape the crowds if its a weekend. If you are unfamiliar with the area, stumbled across this big post and want to just visit Cod Beck Reservoir - then you can park at the northern end of Cod Beck Reservoir in a fairly large free car park, and from there you can walk around the reservoir on a clearly marked and flat path. This is perfect for smaller kids and even pushchairs!

Osmotherley walk overview:

Osmotherley Walk Distance: 4.8 miles
Osmotherley Walking Time: 1.5 - 2 hours
Osmotherley Walk Difficulty: Easy

Osmotherley walk map route:

The map route of this Osmotherley Circular Walk (going clockwise), starts and finishes in Osmotherley village, and you walk about the first half of it on the Cleveland Way Route. Just park in the village on the road side (for free) whereever you can where it will only be a couple of hundred meters to get onto the Cleveland Way. the views soon open out and are pretty special all the way around. For  relatively quick walk the views are some of the best in the area. You can view the full interactive map route by clicking on the button below (and save to your phone - subscription required)

If you don't have a Phone Map App - I really recommend the one by Ordnance Survey. You can download route maps to your phone such as this one and the app will show you exactly where you are on the route even when you have no signal - so no more taking a wrong turn :-)

Photos of what to expect on this Osmotherley Circular Walk:

Once you leave the road in the village and get on the Cleveland Way path you get some excellent views over Osmotherley and the surrounding area.

The path at the start of this walk on the Cleveland Way is clear and you can't go wrong really as there are plenty of signs.

The start of the walk on the Cleveland Way is pretty flat and you'll walk along the edge of a couple of fields (that might have cows's in them on occasions :-)

This part of the walk is the most strenuous as it's uphill for a bit here

The views at the top of the little uphill walk are quite impressive! The A19 is down there somewhere although you wouldn't think it

In spring & summer you'll see lots of Foxglove flowers on this walk - adding a splash of colour

Skirting around the edge of Arncliffe Wood

Approaching the Osmotherley TV Sub Station which looks a little out of place up here. I often wondered what this was up here as you can see it from the car when driving past on the A19 

This section is a bit sheltered and out any wind.

We stay on the Cleveland Way and the views start to open out a bit more again, with Rosberry Topping visible in the far distance.

Now we are walking on the open moor land on the Cleveland Way and the views are great up here

A lone tree - you can feel like you are away from it all on this walk - nice bit of peace & quiet ;-)

The path is very clear on the Cleveland Way and it's like walking on pavement

This where we leave the Cleveland Way path from Osmotherley, and instead head towards towards Scarth Gap and onto Cod Beck Reservior.

It's a nice place to stop here and admire the views along the Cleveland Hills. However - make sure you don't follow the path along the wall on the Cleveland Way - and instead you want to turn right here and head for Cod Beck Reservoir.

At this point this walking route leaves the Cleveland Way and heads for Cod Beck Reservoir, this path will eventually follow the road.

Rather than have to walk along the road to Cod Beck Reservoir, the foot path follows alongside the road. The road is fairly quiet though so might be easier going for a bit if you just walk on the tarmac

 

Looking towards ‘Sheep wash’ by the beck and the car park at Cod Beck. Sheep Wash is well-known by locals and is a great place for kids to paddle in the water in warmer weather. I guess once upon time it's where Sheep where actually washed, hence the name! 

The little stream called Cod Beck, with the path leading to the Reservoir

It's usually nice and quiet on this walk - but can get busy in good summer weather around the reservoir 

Walking through the pinewoods towards Cod Beck Reservoir

A nice little path through the woodland where you will glimpse Cod Beck Reservoir

Love this section of the walk as you approach Cod Beck reservoir 

Cod Beck Reservoir comes into full view!

The path goes all around Cod Beck Reservoir and is very accessible and you can see why the Reservoir is quite a popular place to come too. Many people just have a walk around the Cod beck Reservoir for a leisurely stroll.

Looking back over Cod Beck Reservoir before this walking route joins the minor road where it's a leisurely walk back to the car.

Back to the car. There's plenty of space on the street to park the car for free here right where the Cleveland Way footpath from Osmotherley starts. At the end of one of my most enjoyable shortish walks, Osmotherley has some great pubs and a fish & chip shop - so if you have the time - hang around and make the most of the place!

And if you'd like to see a highlight video of this Osmotherley Walk on the terrain walked and where certain photos where taken - have a watch of this vid:

So there you go - another blog post wrapped up. For anyone who lives in the Teesside / North Yorkshire area (like me!) - this is an excellent little walk and one to return to again and again when in need of some fresh air to clear the cob webs! I hope you have found the blog post useful and it inspires you to pay Osmotherley a visit.

Post by Stuart Hodgson 

'The Hiking Photographer'

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