How long is the Cod Beck Reservoir walk?

Yorkshire Water gives 1.5 miles and 1 hour. Its PDF labels the same route 1½ miles / 2 km. This circuit does not include an approach from Osmotherley village.

Can dogs walk around Cod Beck Reservoir?

Yes, on a lead. Yorkshire Water asks owners to clean up after their dogs and stay on the path.

Can I take a bus directly to the reservoir?

Yorkshire Water says no public transport is currently available to Cod Beck Reservoir. Check village bus journeys separately; no safe, measured approach from that stop has been verified.

Are there steps or stiles?

Yorkshire Water says there are no steps or stiles and gates can be opened wider with a RADAR key. Paths inside the fence are surfaced and mostly flat; the outside path is narrow in places.

Walks

Osmotherley and Cod Beck Walk: Reservoir Route Guide

By Jon Cosson · Updated 2 November 2026 · Checked 2 November 2026

Cod Beck Reservoir has a short landowner-described circuit north of Osmotherley. I use Yorkshire Water’s route rather than adding an unmeasured walk from the village. The surfaced path inside the boundary fence is mostly flat, with a gradual incline and decline; the outside path is narrower.

The walk at a glance

Distance: 1.5 miles / 2.0 km, circularYorkshire Water: 1.5 miles; its PDF gives 1½ miles / 2 km. These are the source’s rounded figures, not a fresh conversion. The village approach is not included.
Time: 1 hour in Yorkshire Water’s guide, excluding the village approach and stops.
Difficulty: Easy, wide, well-surfaced and mostly flat inside the Yorkshire Water boundary fence, with a gradual incline and decline. The outside path is narrow in places.
Start & parking: Smaller of the two car parks north of the reservoir, point 1 on the Yorkshire Water map; North of Cod Beck Reservoir, not Osmotherley village; Yorkshire Water confirms two car parks but publishes no charge on the page or guide checked. Free parking has not been verified.; nearest postcode DL6 3AL (Landowner directions; the PDF warns that postcodes are the closest available, not exact navigation points.)
Waymarking: No steps or stiles. Gates can be opened wider with a RADAR key, according to Yorkshire Water.
Map: OS Explorer OL26; Landranger 100, Yorkshire Water guide
Dogs: Yorkshire Water requires dogs on a lead and owners to clean up after them.
Pushchairs: The landowner confirms surfaced paths and wider RADAR-key gates, but gives no explicit full-route buggy assessment.
Wheelchairs: No steps or stiles and wider RADAR-key gates are confirmed; a specific full-route wheelchair assessment was not verified.
Toilets: No toilets confirmed in the landowner’s route page or PDF; do not rely on facilities at the reservoir.
Café: No refreshments confirmed on this circuit; plan provisions before arriving.
Public transport: Yorkshire Water explicitly says no public transport is currently available to Cod Beck Reservoir. A bus to Osmotherley is not a verified trailhead arrival; the village approach is outside the circuit.
Hazards: Stay on the path. Yorkshire Water prohibits swimming, fires and barbecues. The outside-fence path is narrow in places; assess conditions and gates before setting out.

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About this route

Route guidance from the published sources below, with mapping where available. Information last checked: 2 November 2026. Unconfirmed details and separately dated variants remain explicit. If you find a change, use the contact page.

Distance notes: Yorkshire Water: 1.5 miles; its PDF gives 1½ miles / 2 km. These are the source’s rounded figures, not a fresh conversion. The village approach is not included..

Current route and access check

Park boundary status unconfirmed

Start at the smaller north-side car park shown as point 1 on Yorkshire Water’s map. Take the path beside the road to the green gate, then follow the reservoir to the embankment. Turn left across it and left again along the opposite shore, keeping the water on your left. The path enters woodland, curves towards a bridge and returns through a green gate to the car park. Follow the official map for the exact line.

Yorkshire Water grades this 1 out of 4 (1 Boot in its PDF). No child age recommendation is given. Keep children away from the water and assess the narrower outside-fence approach; the route’s surfaced character is not a universal buggy or wheelchair guarantee.

Route file and official map

No openly licensed GPX or permission to redistribute a track was verified. Use the linked official guidance or OS map; no walking geometry has been traced or invented.

Official route or reserve guidance

Details not confirmed

No total ascent or official start grid reference verified.
Parking charges, reservoir toilets and refreshments were not confirmed; no free-parking claim is made.
No full-route buggy or wheelchair guarantee verified.
No measured village-to-reservoir combination or openly licensed GPX verified.
The PDF calls the reservoir 1½ miles north of the town centre while the web page says 1 mile north; neither is used as a measured walking approach.

The Osmotherley village guide has the separate village facilities and operator links.

How long is the Cod Beck Reservoir walk?: Yorkshire Water gives 1.5 miles and 1 hour. Its PDF labels the same route 1½ miles / 2 km. This circuit does not include an approach from Osmotherley village.
Can dogs walk around Cod Beck Reservoir?: Yes, on a lead. Yorkshire Water asks owners to clean up after their dogs and stay on the path.
Can I take a bus directly to the reservoir?: Yorkshire Water says no public transport is currently available to Cod Beck Reservoir. Check village bus journeys separately; no safe, measured approach from that stop has been verified.
Are there steps or stiles?: Yorkshire Water says there are no steps or stiles and gates can be opened wider with a RADAR key. Paths inside the fence are surfaced and mostly flat; the outside path is narrow in places.

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