Bill's Walks

Newbiggin Common

Filed under: Durham 2000ft Hills

Distance: 12 miles

Start: Bowlees Picnic Park, Bowlees

Click to view start position on Google Maps

Map : OS Explorer 31 – Teesdale and Weardale

The weather forecast was sun and showers and that was good enough for the three of us to decide to ‘knock off’ one of the remaining 2000ft hills of England. The top and trig point of 675 metres is some distance from the wording of Newbiggin Common on the map and after discussion we decided to start at Bowlees Picnic Park as parking in Newbiggin in Teesdale is sparse. Bowlees, in any case is a good Country Park with good toilets and Low Force on the Tees a short distance away.

There is an excellent exit from Bowlees by crossing the bridge over Bowlees Beck to the west bank and following the footpath through the woods. On leaving the wood head immediately to the left up a steep bank and then going north across Causeway Sike and continuing north towards Bradleys Gate. Beware however if there has been heavy rain as the next beck called Westwee Beck can be difficult to cross and can mean wet feet. Durham County Council hope to have a footbridge here sometime but in the current situation this looks a long way off. Go round the back of Bradleys Gate and exit on to the minor road by the farm access.

We decided that the easiest way to gain height was to walk up the road for a distance of over two miles to the summit and for the whole of the distance there was not one single car on the road. The views are wide ranging with Dora’s Seat prominent to the left. Indeed the summit is the turning point on the 2000ft walk to Chapel Fell and Fendrith Hill which was walked some time ago and will appear on this site in the future. It is wise to take advantage of the wall on the summit if weather conditions are adverse and it is lunchtime as this is the last shelter for quite a while. There is an indistinct track on the Teesdale side of the border fence between Teesdale and Weardale and this is followed all the way to the summit trig point. There are some boggy parts but overall the going is better than you would expect. Just near the summit, where there are substantial peat deposits, the track has been developed and made passable for vehicles by the extensive use of wooden palings.

The effort to climb this barely known hill is well worth it, as the views on a clear day are exceptional with a 360 degree panorama. Starting in the north-west you can see into Scotland and then along to Cheviot. Coming down the east much of Northumberland and Durham is seen with the Teeside industry in the distance. The whole of the Cleveland Escarpment is visible down to the Vale of York and to the south are the hills of the Yorkshire Dales. Further west is Mallerstang Edge and Wild Boar Fell and continuing west, and much nearer, is Meldon Fell, Great Dun Fell and Cross Fell with an unknown Lakeland peak peeping through. The distant views must be over 100 miles apart.

The shortest way back to the start is to head due south over James Hill but the first mile is always wet underfoot and often exceedingly so. However in dry weather conditions if you are taking this route keep to the highest ground and then descend the nose to a corner of a wall at Weather Beds at GR927305. A more attractive way to reach this point is to take the landrover track heading east and within less than half a mile you reach the lunch huts for the shooters and beaters which are always in some way segregated. From the huts follow a foot track down to some smaller shooting butts and then follow the small stream marked on the map as Hudeshope Grains. This route gives good views of Upper Hudeshope which is wild country.

As you descend the slope gets steeper and it is not advised to drop down to the bottom as there is no easy route alongside the Hudeshope Beck. There are numerous sheep tracks and in this area that only the sheep know best! When you get to the 550 metre contour (which is about two thirds down the slope) head south, parallel to the beck at the bottom. This contour appears as a shelf and ahead of you is a large wall heading back up the slope. When you eventually reach this, follow the wall uphill to where it turns south at GR927305, (ie. the same place as the shorter route).

Continue south alongside the western side of this wall making towards the reservoir on Coldberry Moss. You ignore the gate in the wall and cross the stile into an enclosed area. After about 100 yards keep an eye open for a small stone stile in the wall to the east which marks the footpath coming up from Moor House Farm. This footpath is not visible on the ground but by heading west you will come to a wall which separates the moor from pasture and at a building you go through a gate to reach the farm. Here turn south alongside the wall. The bridleway passes through several gates, over Laddie Gill (a good spot for snipe) and at GR918284, just after going through a gate look carefully at the wall on your right. It contains a high stone stile which is well camouflaged. Cross this and the next field in the left hand corner. There is no stile at the bottom of the next field and this is being attended to by Durham County Council. It is however easy to avoid by taking the field exit on your right then after passing round the obstructed fence, turn left through a big gate into the field containing the desired footpath. Turning down the field there are two obvious gates into the hamlet of Newbiggin.

The Methodist Chapel here is the oldest chapel still in regular use for services in the UK and is a short distance along to the east after you have crossed the bridge over the beck which goes through the hamlet. It is uphill now on the very minor road to Weardale to GR913280 where a good footpath leads across a field to the houses at Hood Gill. This is passed to the rear and the path continues in charming countryside reaching Bowlees in less than half a mile.

An alternative descent, and an interesting one from the reservoir on Lords Allotment and Coldberry Moss is to pass the reservoir and descend into Coldberry Gutter which is a great example of a hush. This is about a mile less than our route and the hush is followed down to the bridleway, reaching it close to GR918824 and the hard to find stile.

It took us about 6 hours to complete the 12 miles as the terrain is very tussocky (and a broken ankle in Hudeshope would cause serious problems!) but this is a good walk when you want to escape habitations. There were about 4 hours when we were never nearer than 2 miles to any habitation and generally further away. There is good birdlife in Spring but be careful it is open if you plan to go on this walk, particularly after Aug 12th, when grouse shooting might be taking place and the estate is closed for open access.