West Kyo

West Kyo in the winter, showing the Earl Grey Inn

Earl Grey Inn - a copy (not an original) of a Banksy artwork is installed in the men's toilets.

West Kyo as photographed from the Earl Grey public house south towards Fines Park, Annfield Plain

Kyo Pond adjacent to the C2C, not to be confused with Kyo Tarn, 800 m to the east. The pond still exists despite several attempts to fill it in.

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 New Kyo, 15 minutes walk to the south at the other side of local land mark The Bogs (officially Kyo Bogs Nature Reserve), the C2C and Kyo Pond. East Kyo is 15 minutes walk to the east. Harperley is 15 minutes walk to the north. The nearest large town is Stanley. The skyline is dominated by the Pontop Pike Television Transmitter to the northwest.

Ye Olde Earl Grey Inn

The main landmark of the village is the 200 year old Ye Olde Earl Grey Inn public house, with an internal decor of wooden beams and whitewash walls (though much has been removed due to renovation). 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 Sunday lunches, karaoke and other intermittent entertainment on Saturdays, though since the COVID-19 pandemic the Thursday night quiz is no longer run.

Elton John is rumoured to have visited the Earl Grey for a meal back in 1978, though this is unconfirmed as is the alleged presence of his signature on the wall behind the southern end of the bar. Also, a copy (not an original) of a Banksy artwork was installed in the men's toilets in 2014 by a previous landlady. The current gull-obsessed landlord is known for his robust banter and sarcasm.

Kyo Bogs Nature Reserve

Kyo Bogs Nature Reserve, also known as The Bogs or Kyo Bogs, is a small nature reserve east of Annfield Plain, and southeast of Fines Park and West Kyo, consisting of mainly gauze-covered scrub with some wooded and marshy areas.

The main access is via a footpath running north-south through the middle of the reserve connecting West Kyo and Fines Park to the C2C bordering the reserve's southern edge.

A second main path diverges from this to the south east towards the east end of the reserve, eventually crossing a small stream runs south to north across the reserve and running into the main low-lying boggy area with the disused Riding Hill Quarry visible north of it. The stream is believed to be nicknamed Steve's Burn due to its alledgedly putrid nature, believed to be a reference to nearby West Kyo's Earl Grey pub's landlord's banter.

The small, wooden Seagull Bridge takes the aforementioned path across this stream, which sometimes runs a milky seagull white when the normal rusty colour of the algae in it is less evident. This bridge the only route between the west and smaller east ends of Kyo Bogs Nature Reserve without using the C2C cycleway route that runs east - west along the reserve's south side.

The boggy area is the only surface feature of the unnamed main watercourse heading west to east along the northern side of the reserve, most of it running underground before it leaves the reserve, passes northeast through farmland (again most underground) past the Hamlet of East Kyo, before joining Kyo / Harperley Burn at Harperley Bridge at the west end of the Hamlet of Harperley.

In the past, the reserve had a bad reputation for local youths riding motorbikes around it, but this has largely ceased. Kyo Bogs has thus had a chance to recover, and it's a decent sight when all the flowers are out in spring. Red deer are sometimes spotted within or near the reserve.

History

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 (otherwise known as a jerry - now converted to a private house). New developments starting in the late 1980s onwards have, however, seen a recent expansion in the village in terms of size and population.

Famous people

West Kyo was the birthplace of John Buddle (1773), the famous colliery viewer and mining engineer, who later went on to work with Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in the development of Seaham Harbour.

Kyo Village was the birthplace of Hugh Simpson Rodham (on 16th Aug 1879), Hillary Clinton's grandfather who emigrated to the United States.

External links

Media related to West Kyo at Wikimedia Commons