We were at a loose end on Easter Monday, so we needed something to do. The weather forecast wasn’t too good, so higher level walks were discounted early. One option was a river walk from Barnard Castle, along the Teesdale Way. It looked reasonably easy and, even if it did rain, it wouldn’t be too bad. We picked Anne up and off we went.
Arriving in Barnard Castle, we set off. Not on the walk but to the nearest tea shop for pre-walk refreshments. We weren’t on a schedule today.
The start
We could see it was going to be a good walk as soon as we started. It leaves Barnard Castle close to the market square and follows the river downstream. We were quickly into fields and paths alongside the River Tees. At this point we were only going as far as Abbey bridge but the walk was so good that we decided to continue further. The Teesdale Way actually crosses the bridge and follows the South side of the river but we followed an alternative path along the North side.
The Meeting of the Waters
Continuing further down the river was definitely a good idea. The path took us through a lovely area of woodland on the bank of the Tees. This led out into fields again but quickly returned to the river at a point called Meeting of the Waters. This is one of the highlights of the walk and is where he River Greta meets the Tees at Rokeby.
Lunch
The path continues along the river with beautiful views of both the river and the opposite bank. Eventually, we reached the village of Whorlton. We chose to stop here for lunch. There isn’t a tea shop here, so we took advantage of the village pub, The Fernaville’s Rest. This turned out to be a very welcoming pub restaurant. Although they were quite full we were able to get some soup in the bar and the general opinion was that it was excellent.
After lunch, we set off again. The path from the village lead down to Whorlton Bridge. We discovered that Whorlton bridge is a chain link bridge, similar to the Union Chain Bridge near Berwick.
We rejoined the Teesdale Way but now heading West back to Barnard castle. The path continues on the other side of the bridge and follows the River Tees back upstream. It passes over fields initially, before returning to the river at the Meeting of the Waters, near to Motham Tower.
Egglestone Abbey
We followed the path through woods along the banks of the river until we came back to Abbey Bridge. This is situated just to the East of Egglestone Abbey. This is another highlight of the walk. The Abbey itself is on the path back to Barnard Castle. We felt obliged to take a look as entry is free.
Back to Barny
The short walk from Egglestone Abbey is across fields and parts of it overlook Barnard Castle. The roof of Bowes Museum is visible above the houses. We returned back into Barnard Castle over the footbridge and straight to the tea shop before travelling home.
This might be further South than we usually go but it is definitely worth it. We’ll be putting this on the programme, so keep a look out for it.
Julie and Martin x
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