Bill's Walks

Cowshill to Killhope (Weardale Way)

Filed under: Weardale Way

Approx. Distance: 13 miles

Start: Car Park Cowshill off A689 (GR NY856406)

Click to view start position on Google Maps

Map: North Pennines Teesdale & Weardale ~ Explorer OL 31

Grade: Strenuous

In 2008, the Mineral Valleys Project which was a project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, led by English Nature and implemented by local communities in conjunction with Durham County Council produced an excellent set of leaflets giving details of walks in Weardale. Other work which they implemented was the environmental improvements throughout the valley and which are evident in the new street furniture, pavings, etc.

One of the leaflets was a leaflet called Cowshill to Killhope and the first part of this walk uses this leaflet. It is subtitled “An extension to the Weardale Way” and indeed it is that precisely. The original Weardale Way commenced at Killhope Wheel before making its way east. The river at Cowshill is the Killhope Burn which joins the Burnhope Burn flowing down from Burnhope Reservoir at Wearhead to become the River Wear and this is the new starting place for the Weardale Way. Whilst Wearhead is a pleasant spot, I personally feel that Killhope Wheel is a much more prominent and significant start to the walk.

We leave the car park at Burtreeford noting the despoiled lanscape to the north and cross the stream over the burn coming off the valley side from Sedling which we will visit later. The Cowshill pub, in front of you, had an interesting landlord for many years, his speciality, apart from keeping a good house, was to insult or mock his customers. Indeed he used to say that he was the most ill-mannered landlord in the country but he was wrong, as in a competition for the national title he lost out to a landlord from the Southampton area. It was all jest as he was much missed by the customers of his previous pub at Melmerby, on the Cumbrian side of Hartside.

On crossing the bridge we turn immediately over a stile and taking care note the attractive waterfall on Sedling Beck which is followed for a short distance to some cottages where we turn right to join a tarmac road, where we turn down to the bridge over Killhope Burn. There is another fine waterfall just under the bridge which is passed on the Weardale Way on another walk and note also the cemetery on the hill, on the south bank which reminds one of the rural French cemetries, in being away from the village.

We take the path upstream on the south side of the bridge passing the old Copthill Quarry where whinstone was quarried. The Whin Sill surfaced here after leaving the Tees and then progressing to the north of the Tyne Valley where it was extensively quarried around Thirlwall and along Hadrians Wall, as at Cawfield which is near mile castle 42 and there is now a lake and picnic site. The old quarry here at Copthill is also now flooded.

The route is along the Killhope Beck on the south side and passes Low Allers where the valley is very steep. You cannot imagine much sunshine getting down here in mid-winter. The bridge at Heathery is ignored except for those wanting a short walk back to Cowshill and we climb up a little away from the burn through High Rush and Blakeley Field before descending to Killhopeburn Bridge (GR835417). It is uphill now towards Wellhope Farm but at halfway up opposite a wall we turn right through Carricks Haggs to Quarry Hill where we cross Cowhorse Hush. It is now along the side of the forest to Kidds Dam where water was stored to power the wheel below at Killhope. The route now turns north and east through the forest to arrive at the Killhope Wheel Interprative site.

This is the most complete lead mining site in Britain and is run by Durham County Council. This was a lead crushing mill and was built by the Beaumont Company circa 1860 to crush the lead ore mined here. The name is perpetuated in the Beaumont Hotel in Hexham. Ore was brought out from the Park Level which can be entered by visitors to the museum and stored in the bowse teems. In the early days when the site was acuired by Durham County Council preliminary work was carried out by the Durham Voluntary Countryside Ranger Service (DVCRS) who cleared out the bowse teems and the wheel was repainted by Scouts from North Yorkshire under full supervision. The wheel is over 10 metres diameter (33ft 6in) and is an overshot wheel (it is driven by water coming over the top of the wheel). This was not its first site as it saw earlier service at Holmes Linn on the East Allen which is also the site of a fine waterfall. The ore mined here was by all accounts extremely hard and the waterwheel powered four sets of crushing rollers.

The Killhope Interpretive Centre is well worth a visit having displays of the “shop” where the miners slept four to a bed as well as being able to study the crushers and all the associated equipment. There is also a giftshop with an unrivalled selection of leadmining books and a restaurant.

We now cross the main road to start the long climb up the Carriers Way through the forest at Carriers Hill. The A689 up the valley climbs over into Nenthead in Cumbria and is the highest main road in England at 623 metres. The Carriers Way is the route where the pack horses carried the crushed lead ore over to the East Allen valley for smelting. When you reach the top you will note the top of Killhope Law which is one of the Durham 2000ft hills and is a fine viewpoint particularly northwards. The route is wet in places and is marked by posts.

Soon we descend to a dirt road used by grouse shooters and it is an easy descent passing to the right of Dodd Reservoir. This was the original route of the Weardale Way and it is interesting to note that in the map on page 47 of the book “Upper Weardale Way” by Malcolm Parker and Dorothy Gibson that they still refer to this as the Weardale Way. This book is a series of circular walks on the way from Auckland Castle to the start at Killhope and is available from the Dales Centre. You will also see the remains of the flue which carried the poisonous sulphur fumes up to the top of Killhope Law before dispersal. Similar ones can be seen just north of Rookhope and at both Allendale and Langley, north of Allendale where the chimneys are still standing.

The cottages when you eventually reach the road are at Dirt Pot and were the dwellings for the miners and smelters. About 40 years ago one served as a Youth Hostel. Also in this hamlet, behind the houses is the Candle House where the candles which lit the village were made. Allenheads, which we pass through, demands more than a passing visit which we will visit on a further walk. It is a long climb up the B6295 onto Allendale Common before picking up the track over Burtree Fell and into the Sedling Burn. This valley had many workings ranging from ironstone at Queensbury, whilst whinstone was also quarried around here as well as lead and silver at Burtree Pasture and Sedling. These two mines produced large quantities of ore. In latter years fluospar was mined here for use as a flux in the Teesside and Hartlepool steelworks.

We continue down the burn where the only sound now is the bleating of the sheep. This is an extremely interesting area for geologists and at the whinstone quarries passed in the early stage of the walk can be seen the Burtreeford disturbance where the rocks layers are tilted.

It is now a short distance back to the car park down the burn to round off a full and rewarding day.