Lunedale is the dale, or valley, of the

River Lune The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. Etymology Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic in genesis and deriv ...

, on the east side of the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

in England, west of

Middleton-in-Teesdale Middleton-in-Teesdale is a market town in County Durham (district), County Durham, in England. It is situated on the north side of Teesdale between Eggleston and Newbiggin, Teesdale, Newbiggin, a few miles to the north-west of Barnard Castle. The ...

. Its principal settlements are Grassholme,

Thringarth Thringarth is a hamlet in Lunedale, in the Pennines of 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 administrat ...

and

Bowbank Bowbank is a village in Lunedale, a side valley of Teesdale Teesdale is a dale, or valley, in Northern England. The dale is in the River Tees’s drainage basin, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne an ...

. Lunedale is also the name of a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

which covers most of the north side of the dale. The population of the parish was not counted separately at the 2011 census, but the combined population of Lunedale and

Holwick Holwick is a small village in Teesdale, north-east England. Located in the Pennine hills, it consists of a few houses spread along a road in the pattern of a linear settlement. As the population taken at the 2011 Census was less than 100, details ...

parishes was 187. Most of the south side of the dale is in the civil parish of Mickleton. Lunedale was historically in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

, but since 1974 has been in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. The River Lune flows through Lunedale before reaching

Teesdale Teesdale is a dale, or valley, in Northern England. The dale is in the River Tees’s drainage basin, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne and Leven. Upper Teesdale, more commonly just Teesdale, falls ...

where it joins the

River Tees The River Tees (), in Northern England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar near Middlesbrough. The modern day history of the river has be ...

. The river flows through two

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

s on the way:

Selset Reservoir Selset Reservoir is a reservoir in County Durham, England. It is situated in Lunedale which is a side valley of the River Tees, about west of Middleton-in-Teesdale. It supplies water for Teesdale and is owned by Northumbrian Water. It was buil ...

and

Grassholme Reservoir Grassholme Reservoir is a large reservoir in County Durham, England. It is situated in Lunedale, which is a side valley of the River Tees, about south of Middleton-in-Teesdale. It supplies water for Teesdale and Teesside and is owned by Northumbr ...

. Running roughly parallel to Lunedale to the south is Baldersdale. The

Pennine Way The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kir ...

passes through Lunedale on its way to

, and crosses Grassholme Bridge over Grassholme Reservoir. A former railway

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

from the now-closed

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

to Middleton-in-Teesdale line crosses the River Lune just north of Mickleton.

References

Valleys of County Durham {{Durham-geo-stub