A Beamish Circular and the Beamish Bombing
Filed under: County Durham BorderDistance: 7 miles
(Ousbrough Wood extension add 3/4 mile)
(Hellhole Wood extension add 1 mile)
Map: OS Explorer 307 – Consett and Derwent Reservoir
Start: South Causey Inn (GR 201544)
Click to View Start Position on Google Maps
The village of Beamish is a relatively new creation, like many of the villages near here, being established as late as 1873. Formerly Beamish referred to the lands surrounding Beamish Hall and was a parish of Tanfield. The new Beamish parish consisted of Stanley, Shield Row, Ox Hill, East Kyo, East Stanley and Beamish Stables. At this time the population was expanding rapidly due to the opening of three coal mines where the coal seams could be up to 40 feet thick. Mines were opened at West Stanley in 1833, Air Pit in 1849 and the Beamish Mary opened in 1883, the latter lasting until 1960. There was a fourth pit known as Chophill or Beamish Number 2 and a row of houses were built to house some of the miners. This was known as Eden Row and was situated close to the Stanhope and Tyne railway. Eden Place where the Durham County Council Picnic Park is and Eden Square were then built a little further to the north and the village then consisted of 70 houses, a school and a chapel. The winding house of this colliery still exists as it is the one rebuilt at Beamish Museum. The school had a capacity of 400 with an average attendance of 274 and the village lasted until recent times when it was demolished to make way for the new road following the closure of Consett Iron Works.
Beamish Hall was the home of two prominent Durham families which were the Shafto family (Bobby Shaftoe had a song written about him) and the Eden family from which Sir Anthony Eden the former PM was descended. The name Beamish is derived from Old English Bew Mys which means beautiful mansions.
Beamish Hall
The walk starts from the South Causey Hotel and passes round the beer garden and the animal park to reach the old road from Sunniside to Stanley. Here you proceed right up the hill and on reaching the Blue Bell pub take the path to the left to reach the old British Rail line to Consett. This line is now known nationally as it is part of the Coast to Coast Cycle route (C2C) developed by Sustrans which is cycled by thousands of people every year. It was famous in earlier days when in use by railway enthusiasts who visited to watch the huge 2-10-0 locomotives hammering up the hill to Consett carrying iron ore from Tyne Dock. Here turn right, soon crossing the new bridge over the main road and continue westwards slowly gaining height. On your left you pass several ponds which were built with the help of volunteers of the Durham Countryside Ranger Service in its early days. On your right are the factories of Tanfield Lea with fine views behind to the north.
At the end of the factories (at GR 195535) there is a track on your right descending to the west of the factories and on passing the last buildings take the track on your right. This leads through the Tanfield Lea Local Nature Reserve (LNR) which has some interesting plant life. This path reaches the Tanfield road and a short distance to your left is East Tanfield Railway station on the Tanfield Railway. Enter here and follow the clear path north. This path is part of the Great North Forest Trail much of which can be followed on OS Pathfinders 308 and 316. The stream here on your right is the infant River Team which takes its name from its source near Tanfield (originally Teamfield) and is here known as Causey Gill. There are two paths down Causey Gill, one to each side, and we take the left one. This brings us to the world famous Causey Arch, which is the oldest railway bridge in the world, built well before the days of steam.
Causey Arch
After crossing we proceed left alongside the track of the Tanfield Railway to the car park. There is much information on this railway on my other walks notably Sanctuary Way Stage 1. The gorge of Causey Gill is very deep and is thought to have been created as an overflow during the Ice Age although more recent thought suggests it was created by a river within a glacier.
We cross the A693, here shown on the map as Causey Road (but called the Stanley New Road in my youth) to the Causey Arch Inn and follow the bridleway called Coppy Lane in a southerly direction. Coppy is a corruption of Coppice and indeed much coppicing was carried out in the woodlands near here in the past. At the bottom cross the minor road and enter the grounds of Beamish Hall which is now a fine hotel with excellent all round facilities including a brewery in the old stables. Further details of this building can be found in Nikolaus Pevsner’s book on Durham which was part of his major project covering all the interesting buildings of England county by county in a series called “The Buildings of England”. Don’t be surprised to see many birds of prey here as there is a Bird of Prey Centre here but any red kites seen are wild with several pairs nesting nearby. Turn down to and then along the main entrance to the hotel and at the entrance continue straight ahead following the River Team down a former entrance to the hall.
You are now passing to the north of Beamish Museum, winner of European Museum of the Year in the past and some of the buildings can be seen on your right. Shortly after passing the site of Beamish Mill at Mill Wood there is a fine line of very old yews alongside a wall on your left. All of the land on your left belongs to the Woodland Trust and is part of Hedley Woods much of which are new creations and are well worth a visit. On Sanctuary Way Stage 1 the route goes through the whole site. After passing a lake on your left, often holding interesting birds, the track climbs. Here look out for a path on your right (GR225554) which enters a wood and climbs up to the eastern edge of the wood. This is part of the Tyne Wear Trail which passes through Hedley Hall wood. It is recommended to take this route along the edge rather than the track ahead which can be very wet. After about half a mile the path (which is part of the Tyne Wear Trail) eventually descends to join a footpath coming in on your left from Pockerley Buildings.
Continue south to the road near to High Forge where armaments were made for the Napoleonic wars and in the late 1800s this forge was reputed to manufacture the finest muzzle loading cannons in England. There are two routes which can be taken here. The one keeping off the road goes through Ousbrough Wood (a LNR of Gateshead as the River Team is the border hereabouts between Gateshead and Co. Durham) which is followed to GR 232539 which is the third footbridge. Crossing the footbridge ascend the stairs to the top where you turn right and follow the footpath to the right to reach the metal bridge over the C2C on the Tyne Wear Trail. The actual route of this trail can be followed from High Forge but the climb up is very slippy after wet weather. Be warned!
Shepherd and Shepherdess
The alternative way from High Forge is to stick to the road going steeply uphill passing by Hammer Square to reach the Shepherd and Shepherdess pub where there is an interesting story. The pub takes its name from the statues of a shepherd and shepherdess above the entrance. During the Napoleonic Wars there was a blockade on Britain and lead for arms was scarce. Lead was smuggled into the country in disguise and these statues arrived as lead for the war effort. They came under the ownership of the local squire and were not melted down but on a stormy night, after one of the statues of an accompanying dog was destroyed, he gave them to the pub which then changed its name. At the pub take the road past the alms houses to the site of Beamish Station and turn down to the bridge over the C2C. Better still from the pub take the path behind the houses through the wood to arrive at the same spot.
Cross the bridge and continue ahead to arrive at two restaurants. This building was originally Beamish Working Mens Club (CIU and affiliated of course) which is situated on what was originally the main road and head west along this towards Beamish on your right. After a very short distance you reach the memorial to the victims of the Beamish bombing killed in the bombing of May 1st 1942 on the other side of the road. This raid has attracted a lot more interest recently as it was part of one of the biggest in the NE killing 36 people (11 at Wallsend, 6 at Longbenton and 8 in Beamish) including at Beamish the son of the Deputy Regional Commissioner Jack (later Lord ) Lawson. The heaviest bombed area was the Derwent Valley near Rowlands Gill where over 60 large bombs were dropped. Full details of these raids can be found by googling “When the bombs fell on Rowlands Gill” by Brian Pears. This is a lengthy and touching account of the raids and includes details of the Beamish incident. The question was asked, why there? Indeed there were decoy sites at Gibside and Beamish but witnesses testify that no fires had been lit at the time of the raid. It is widely thought that the target was Durham and the raid was a Baedeker Raid. These were retaliatory raids by the Germans after the destruction of some of their cathedrals and in the previous week Exeter, Bath and York had been attacked followed by Canterbury and Norwich the next week. On the night of the attack Durham city had been covered by a layer of white mist and it is thought that in the dark the Germans mistook the bend in the Derwent and the nearby viaduct for Durham City and bombed it.
The Beamish bombs were probably aimed at the railway line to Consett or with railway lines on both sides it made Beamish look like a factory. The deaths here were particularly poignant as they were about 18 hours after the raid. This was because no one knew of the fact that a bomb had gone through the roof of a building and was in a basement. It was fitted with a timer delay and regrettably exploded at 9.00pm at night when some of the residents had been clearing up some of the damage.
On the 28th of April 2012 a memorial service was held on the site next to the monument and this can be watched here on YouTube. It shows the service with contributions from Kevan Jones the local MP who is coincidentally a War Grave Commissioner, Jack Hair a local historian who was instrumental in getting the story recorded, Ruth Ross a granddaughter of Jack Lawson, Michelle Robson of the Special Constabulary representing the two Specials who were killed and staff from Beamish Museum who work closely with the local community and had an exhibition at the museum. Worth a watch.
It is now a short walk up the old road to the site of the railway station where the C2C is picked up. Head back up the C2C towards Stanley up to where you joined it at Kip Hill (noting the fine cattle artwork at Beamish just after the station) and then back to the start which is about one and a half miles. Better still is another route back from Eden Place picnic site near to the station where the Great North Forest Trail is followed through Hellhole Wood (owned by the Woodland Trust) and then enter Carrickshill Wood which adjoins it. Do not descend to the picnic site at Beamish Park (GR208547) but maintain your height passing by several superb old beech trees to exit on to the old Stanley road via a hole in the wall which surrounds the Beamish Hall Estate. Here you can either walk back up the road to the hotel of continue on the Great North Forest Trail straight ahead up a very old lane which was sadly damaged recently by development. The hedgerows here had a diverse plant life. Cross the stile and over a field to the A693 where it is a short distance back on the left to the start.
Baybridge and Nookton Fell
Filed under: County Durham BorderDistance: 13 miles
Map: OS Explorer 307 – Consett and Derwent Reservoir
Start: Baybridge Picnic Park
Click to View Start Position on Google Maps
This walk is a continuation of the border walks which began at Birtley and follow the border through Beamish to reach the River Derwent and follow it upstream to Pow Hill.
The border runs through the middle of the Derwent Reservoir to Carricks before picking up the river again. The north bank of the river is Northumberland but this is not the case at Baybridge Picnic Park which is a Durham County Council site. The reason for this is that at some time in the past the river was diverted here for a short distance. This corner of north-west Durham is especially attractive with the river flowing through a gorge to the west.
We leave the picnic park by turning left onto the road and then left again to pick up the track to Newbiggin Hall. The road up the hill is an old drovers route to Pennypie as well as a packhorse route. The going is easy, broadly following the contours on the access road to Riddlehamhope to return to the river at Heathery Burn (GR 905494).
Riddlehamhope Hall
Riddlehamhope is an unusual building being originally a fortified farmhouse which was modified and improved in later times although sadly it is now a ruin. The border here is the Norham Burn, a short distance to the east and this is followed south to the grouse butts to the west of Nookton Fell. It is now only a climb of about 100 feet in the half mile to the top.
We continue east on the grouse shooters track to Nookton Farm which is in very pleasant surroundings looking down onto the Nookton Burn. We now follow the right of way, high above the burn to arrive at Gibraltar (GR945491). This is a delectable spot at the junction of the Nookton Burn and the Beldon Burn which join here to form the River Derwent. Vagabond, in his book “50 Weekend Walks Round Newcastle” published just after World War II says this place is a perfect Elysium and those who know his books, know full well how extensive his knowledge was of the North East countryside!
Woodland path at Gibraltar Banks
It is a steep short climb up to the unique and interesting village of Hunstanworth, indeed there is no other place like it in County Durham. It is of some antiquity, being mentioned in the Bolden Book when Prince Bishop Pudsey compiled the Durham equivalent of the Doomsday Book. Hunstanworth is less well known than it should be and suffers from its proximity to Blanchland. The buildings were designed by Samuel Teulon, the well known Victorian architect in 1862. His style of High Victorian does not please everyone with its angularity and the use of multi-coloured bricks and, in the case of Hunstanworth, coloured stone and different shades of slate. This style is much favoured in Burgundy in France as any of you who have visited Beaune will be able to testify. The reason that Teulon designed and built here is down to the fact that he was sponsored by the Vicar, the Rev David Capper, who resided at Newbiggin Hall passed earlier in the walk. The church of St James is interesting and the churchyard has the remains of a pele tower found more frequently in Northumberland. Many of the other buildings were designed by Teulon and others in the vicinity, and indeed further afield, show evidence of his style of architecture. Pevsner in his County Durham Guide called Teulon insensitive, hamfisted and self-assertive but has to admit that in this case he has been wholly successful!
Hunstanworth Church
It is also worth noting that Hunstanworth is County Durham’s only Thankful Village, in that it lost no men or women during World War I. There is a plaque in the church commerating this fact.
Hunstanworth’s Thankful Plaque
We walk up the quiet road to Townfield where on reaching the hamlet we have fine views of Boltslaw and down into Ramshaw. ln the 1800s this was obviously a very active mining area which is covered in other walks. We descend to the Bolts Burn. If time permits you can continue north-east to Allenshields and Rope Barn to drop down into Blanchland and follow the track back to Baybridge or alternatively you can follow Boltsburn down to the Stanhope road and back to Baybridge.
Footnote: If you have read “A Pennine Journey 1938” by Alfred Wainwright (not published until 1986 when he was famous) you will have noted that Wainwright walked from the Kirk Inn in Romaldkirk to Blanchland in one day, crossing from Middleton over Newbiggin Common into Westgate, then Scarsike Head and down into Rookhope, then down into Hunstanworth and finally Blanchland. An epic day! I recommend this book to everyone as it encapsulates the period just prior to WW2. Indeed the day Wainwright left Blanchland was the day of the historic meeting at Munich between Chamberlain, Hitler, Mussolini and the French Premier. Regrettably it had rained in Weardale and he thought it a bit dreary but after that distance who can blame him! Blanchland revived him and he thought, quite rightly ,that it was a wonderful place and nearly eighty years later, I am sure you will agree with his sentiments
Teesdale Way – Piercebridge to Blackwell Bridge
Filed under: Teesdale WayDistance: 13 miles
Map: OS Explorer 304 – Darlington & Richmond
Start: Piercebridge (GR NZ 211159)
Click to View Start Position on Google Maps
The village of Piercebridge goes back a long way and is worth a look around before starting the walk. In fact the bulk of the village is contained within the walls of the Roman Fort known as Vinovium. There are some attractive cottages about but the church of St Mary is relatively new being built in 1873 in Victorian times. The name of Piercebridge changed slightly over the years and is derived from an old word for osiers (willow plants) which were no doubt used on the bridge over the River Tees, which flows through the south of the village. Vinovium was constructed between AD 260 and 270 and served to guard the crossing of the Tees on Dere Street also known as Watling Street (sections of which are used in several of my walks). A cursory glance of the map shows this road heading in a straight line on both sides of the river downstream of the current bridge and indeed the Romans had been on site for two centuries prior to the building of the fort that we see today. In around 1771 the remains of the old Roman bridge were swept away by the floods that devastated the Tees, Wear and Tyne with very few bridges surviving in the area.
Much of the fort lies under the village green and the houses, but fortunately the north east corner has been excavated and can be visited free of charge, just behind St Marys Church (which is a much favoured name for churches hereabouts as all those on the Four Churches walk from Barningham illustrate).
Piercebridge Roman Fort
We leave the fort and head towards the Tees down a lane behind the houses to reach the river. This is followed downstream to emerge onto the A67 at Carlbury Mill which was a corn mill. We now proceed east to High Coniscliffe passing the Duke of Wellington pub. Just before the church of St Edwin we leave the road to return to the river. The church of St Edwin is from the Early English period but the site goes back to Norman times as the north doorway and and the window at the west end of the nave on the south side show.
Our route now follows a delightful three mile section of the Teesdale Way alongside the Tees. There are several places here where the erosion has left sandy areas where there are sand martins nests and twice over the last few years these have been the first spring sightings of these attractive birds. The route passes under the A1M to arrive at Low Coniscliffe passing behind some gardens onto a minor road and then crossing two fields to arrive at the Baydale Beck Inn which has a beer garden and makes a good lunch stop.
The Tees near Low Coniscliffe
There is now a short section of road walking on the A67 which is nevertheless interesting as you are passing Broken Scar Waterworks owned by Northumbria Water which was formerly Darlington Corporation Waterworks dating back to the mid 1800s. Some of this is now listed as a historical monument and there are open days where a steam powered beam engine dating back to 1903 can be seen working. Another one to see is the Ryhope Pumping Station near Sunderland – check their websites for open days, one of which is normally Sept/ Oct.
Immediately after passing the waterworks and at a picnic site return to the riverside for another section of fine walking, with good birdlife, of about one and a half miles where at a bend in the river you cross into a wood and after a short climb reach Blackwell village, which is a suburb of Darlington. There are two places of interest here. Firstly after passing Baydale Farm you will note a ruin in the field to the east of the farm. This is the remains of a leper hospital from the 14th Century.
At the start of the climb up to the road at Blackwell you will notice a wooded hill covered in trees marked on the OS map as a castle. There was a wooden castle here but the site was originally an Iron Age fortification. Here you turn right to reach the A66. The Teesdale Way divides into two sections to Croft and we take the one to the west which is to me the better route to Croft. We follow the A66 to the roundabout and then take the road on the left to Stapleton. Prior to the construction of the A1M this was the A1 through Barton to Scotch Corner. At Stapleton we leave the Teesdale Way near to the Bridge Inn named after the old bridge.
Stapleton is an old village going back to the 9th Century. The Lord of the Manor Miles de Stapleton was killed at Bannockburn in 1314 and in the same century the bridge here was swept away to be replaced by a ferry. There is now a section of one mile of quiet road walking back under the A66M to Cleasby village. Most of the land around here is on a bed of limestone overlaid by some clay and much good quality gravel which has been exploited over the years. The remnants of one of the sites at Cleasby has been well restored and is a haven for birds as well as a centre for fishing.
River Tees near Cleasby
At Cleasby village take the lane at the west end of the Green back to the riverside and follow the path upriver under the A1M upstream to a big bend at Manfield Scar (GR 233135) where the path leaves the Tees and continues on higher ground passing to the south of Glebe Farm and crossing Manfield Beck close to the Tees. The path now leads to Holme House and then reaches Dere Street which is followed back to Piercebridge.
On the way it passes the George Hotel which was a Coaching hotel in former days and has a very interesting story associated with it. For those born before 1960 many will recall a song called “My Grandfather Clock” written way back in 1876 which tells the story of a clock which stopped, never to go again when the old man died. The story goes that this event took place here at the George Hotel when the landlord Christopher Charge died. Takes some believing but that is the story and the writer Henry Clay Work an American did visit the George Hotel. It has been recorded by Johnny Cash, Sam Cooke and Burl Ives. The one we used to hear was by The Radio Revellers on Children’s Favourites.
George Hotel
After 13 miles you are entitled to have refreshments as the Carlbury Inn in Piercebridge is nearby, as is the Crown at Manfield village which are both recommended but check the opening times.
Thank You Alfred Wainwright – Bannisdale Horseshoe, Easegill Kirk and Casterton Fell
Filed under: OtherWhen you and your group have been walking for many years it sometimes a problem to go to somewhere that you have not visited before, whilst at the same time it can be resolved by revisiting a walk done many years previously, some of which has no doubt been forgotten over the intervening years! In order to celebrate the long awaited decision of the government to extend both the Lake District National Park and the Yorkshire Dales National Park boundaries we decided to seek out two walks which we thought appropriate.
The Bannisdale track
To be fair the Lake District walk was already within the boundaries of the Lake District, albeit at its eastern edge, but the Bannisdale Horseshoe walk taken from his book “The Outlying Fells of Lakeland” had not been walked by us. I do not put route descriptions on walks that are well published, as much of the Lake District is, and indeed do not intend to do this now. However at a distance of 11.5 miles and a comment from Alfred Wainwright that this was the longest and hardest walk in the book proved irresistible!
The walk was down as a 7 hours walk and being well into retirement we nevertheless thought it to be exaggerated. Whilst we did not hurry over the route his timing was correct but for lovers of wide open spaces this was a walk to be savoured with extensive views over 360 degrees ranging from the Howgills to the far west of the Lake District. In parts the walk was reminiscent of the Northern Pennines but greatly enhanced by the views, so make sure you pick a day of good visibility to do this walk. Better still also pick a busy weekend as this place will still be lonely. There is no source of drinking water or shelter on the walk, just lots and lots of space. This is well shown on several blogs on the web such as on My Pennines, Striding Edge, Walking Forum and Leaney.
Leck Beck below Ease Gill
Our walk in the Dales National Park also was in Cumbria, indeed very close to the Lancashire border and was adapted from Wainwright’s “Walks in Limestone Country” and was a combination of Walk 1 (Casterton Fell and Easedale Kirk) and Walk 2 (The Caves and Potholes of Leck Fell). AW makes reference in his second page on Walk 1 that these two can be combined by following the Leck Beck down to Cowan Bridge and in our view this is the preferred option. This makes a 13 mile walk which has great variety.
Starting at Casterton with a pull up to Brownthwaite Pike and good views backwards to the Lune Valley and the Lakes, there is then a section over moors to Bullpot Farm followed by a plethora of potholes in the Leck Beck and then a very pleasant walk alongside the beck from Easegill Kirk to Cowan Bridge. There is a minor problem in getting back to Casterton. The footpath from Leck village over Leck Beck and through the grounds of Fairthwaite Park is now closed. Stay on the south bank of Leck Beck to the A65 and very shortly after crossing Leck Beck, and a few yards after passing the entrance to Fairthwaite Park House, look for the permissive path which goes through two fields separated from the road by a hedge to reach the A65 where the original path reached the road. This leaves a short walk alongside the main road before you take the Roman Road here called Long Level back to Casterton and a welcoming pub. This area, along with the northern Howgills deserves National Park status and makes for a cohesive and logical boundary. Do not attempt this walk after flood or a period of heavy rain. The guidebook warns of this and is correct to do so.
A few weeks prior to doing this walk two friends were staying in Skipton on a walking holiday and I recommended this book. The contents were much appreciated and after a fair number of years little has changed. To quote AW “this is a part of England that should be better known by walkers who love quiet hills”.
Alan Earnshaw’s Wear Valley Way
Filed under: Weardale WayStart: Killhope Lead Mining Centre
Click to View Start Position on Google Maps
I have made numerous comments on this walk when discussing the Weardale Way and how the first waymarked route was established in the 1970s and recently whilst digging through some old files I came across the original route description by Alan Earnshaw, the Secretary of the Association of Fell Ramblers and Wayfarers. What now follows is a synopsis of the the original guide from the late 1970s…
The River Wear and its surrounding hinterlands must rate as one of Britain’s most important workshops and the area itself played an important part of our heritage and indeed development. Contrary to popular belief the industries did not confine themselves to just the lowlands, in fact the high fells and dales were just as industrialised around the turn of the century. When our association planned the Wear Valley Way we were not aware of the unique nature of the area, but as we transferred the route from paper to the actual walk we found that we had created a bleak way of moorland beauty.
The extent to which industry had penetrated the area chosen for our walk added, we felt, an interesting feature that could not be ignored, throughout the walk we would be reminded of the labours men had put in to fuel the industries of an industrial revolution. Today many of these places are little more than crumbling ruins, but still they bear in impressive testimony to the extent of industries in the upper Dale.
The walk starts from Killhope Wheel which is situated at the old Park Level Mill on the banks of Killhope Burn some distance above Cowshill, on the A689 Stanhope to Alston road. The crushing plant that once handled the lead ore from a number of seams in Cowshill has been a popular tourist spot for a number of years and accordingly has several amenities which encouraged us to use it as the walks starting point.
Killhope Lead Mining Centre
Leaving the Wheel behind we enter Weardale Forest, access is gained by a footpath several hundred yards up the A689 road (access is also gained by the forestry road which leaves the picnic site near the ford – however the Forestry Commission reserve the rights to refuse access along this track). The forest was planted from 1954 onwards and hides a good deal of the old lead workings and spoil heaps, but some of the old ‘hushes’ and turf built dams can still be seen. At the first of these dams (Kidd’s Dam) the track heads along a fire break and comes out at Cowhurst Hush. This, the largest ‘hush’ in Weardale was created like most other ‘hushes’, water was gathered in turf dams which were released when full, the escaping water tearing earth and vegetation away and exposing the lead-bearing rock below.
After crossing Cowhorse a series of good paths leads the walker into the village of Cowshill. From the village the Allendale road is followed for a short distance before a bridleway leads past Cogley and on to Burtree Fell. At a point where the county boundary is reached, the walk leaves the bridleway and heads over an undefined track to Sedling Fell and Black Hill before reaching Race Head which at 1918ft is the highest point of the walk. Below Race Head a bridleway leads into the metalled road going down Middlehope Bank. Near the bottom of the bank are some very interesting privately owned lead mines, one having a very quaint method of drawing ore to the surface. By using an old van lifted off its wheels the pit head gear is operated direct from the prop shaft. Crossing Middlehope Burn the road now starts to climb to Scarsike Head. At the junction with the Rookhope to Westgate road turn right and after a short while the Way leaves the road by way of a footpath over Red Road and Smailsburn Common which in turn leads us to Rookhope.
Rookhope still remains the centre of the local mining industry and is the home of Swiss Aluminium Mining (UK) Ltd who operate the large Redburn Mine. The walk leaves Rookhope up the old railway line, access to which is gained by a footpath near the public toilets. The railway climbs over 600ft in 17,000 yards and reaches Bolts Law Winding House (ruins). This point was the highest standard gauge railway line ever built in Britain. For the next six miles the line now snakes over Stanhope Common and comes out near to Wetherhill Engine on the B6278 road. From Wetherhill the Way crosses Collier Law and East Colliers Law Moss before reaching Rogerley Hill TV mast. From here a metalled road leads down to the outskirts of Frosterley.
Rookhope Village
Leaving Frosterley the Way passes the Tilcon Quarry at Harehope before climbing a road used as a public path (RUPP) which leads to a farm. Beyond here a path leads up to Harvey Hill and then to the old lead and copper mine shafts on Pikeston. Going by way of Doctors Gate we reach the ruins of Metcalfs House which was an old coaching inn on the Teesdale-Weardale pack route. A path now leads through Hamsterley Forest and along the banks of Ayhope Beck. From Low Redford a choice of routes is offered and the walker will eventually arrive at Bedburn from where a series of paths lead through New Hall and Park House before eventually coming out on the Hamsterley road near to the A68.
Walking down to the A68 and climbing a bank on the opposite side of the road will lead to Witton Castle. Inside the Castle grounds a further path heads down towards the River Wear and Holme House which affords excellent views of Witton-le-Wear Nature Reserve. Another path leads from here along the river bank to Witton Park. Beyond Witton Park a clearly marked path leads all the way to Escomb and then on to Newton Cap on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland.
The last lap of the walk takes to the old Durham to Bishop Auckland railway line and this should be followed all the way to Hunwick. Just beyond the old Hunwick Station a path leads down to the River Wear and then along the river banks all the way to the district boundary at Jubilee bridge near Willington. This is the site of a picnic park and you can take a well earned drink at the refreshment caravan situated here in the summer months.
With the Wear Valley Way the association of Fell Ramblers and Watfarers have attempted a mammoth feat. Hours of consultation were spent with landowners, public authorities, private companies and government departments. During the winter months of 1978 over 200 letters were sent out to every possible person, group or authority who were concerned with the walk. This has been followed by hours of voluntary work, waymarking, building cairns and repairing stiles and gates and whilst most of this work is already completed we still have a good deal of work to do before the walk is officially opened in August.
Following the Inaugural Walk on August 4th 1979 the walk will become a recreational path. That means it will be a path that will accommodate walkers who want to undertake the challenge of the full 46 miles in a 24hr period, or for those who want to do the walk a section at a time over a period of weeks or even months. badges and Certificates will be awarded to all those who complete the walk.
Alan Earnshaw
Addendum
There has been replies from Alan Stewart an ex DCC Ranger and Mike Knipe a current Ranger who has a link to this site. Both have copies of the original book which was published in 1983 by Discovery Guides Ltd of Middleton in Teesdale and printed in Cockfield. The ISBN number is ISBN 086309 016 8 and has chapters on the history of the Wear Valley Way, places of interest on the route, lead mining in the dale and the route plans as well as a appendix on Wear Valley dialects.
There is another book on the Weardale Way by Ken Piggin (JKE Piggin) from a slightly later period which takes the Wear Valley from its source to its mouth and which was published on Dalesman Books. Ken wrote several books including the Nidderdale Way which is an excellent walk. Ken Piggin’s is the best book on the Weardale Way and is in my opinion a better route than a later book published around 2000 on a lowland route. I have searched for a copy at a reasonable price but have been unsuccessful with all prices asking over £20 I`ll just have to keep rummaging around the charity shops etc.
The Weardale Way is an under promoted walk within the county and it would be good to see an updated book on the walk as well as a series of leaflets on a suitable website to complement the route similar to those produced by Hampshire C C on the Test Way.