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West Kyo

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West Kyo

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 landmark 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.

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 whitewashed walls (though much has been removed due to renovation).

This pub is reputed to be haunted, notably 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 was known locally for Sunday lunches, karaoke and other intermittent entertainment on Saturdays, though since the COVID-19 pandemic the Thursday night quiz has not been run.

As of 4 May 2026 the Earl Grey faces closure due to its leasehold being relinquished and its future is uncertain.

Elton John visited the Earl Grey for a meal back in 1978. Unconfirmed is the presence of his signature on a tile on the wall behind the southern end of the main bar, hidden when the bar was reconfigured several years ago.

A copy (not an original) of a Banksy artwork was installed in the men's toilets in 2014 by a previous landlady. There are also a small number of Laurel and Hardy figurines.

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.

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