Description

Barnard Castle & Teesdale Way

This walk starts in Barnard Castle and follows the Teesdale Way along the Tees, on both sides of the river.  We visit the Meeting of the Waters, Whorlton Village and Egglestone Abbey, on the way along this lovely walk.

The start

We start in the centre of Barnard Castle, near St Mary’s Church.  From here we will head through the town towards the riverside, in Demesnes field.  This part of the walk is on the Teesdale Way, which connects the Pennine Way (at Middleton in Teesdale) to the coast, following the Tees.

A little way after the start we see Egglestone Abbey on the opposite bank.  We will visit this later in the walk.

Before long we enter the Tees Bank Plantation.  This is a very pretty wood and a pleasure to walk through.  A little way in, we encounter Abbey Bridge.  This is where the Teesdale Way crosses the River Tees.  However, we will stay of the North bank and continue on through the woods.

Meeting of the Waters

At the other end of the wood, we emerge onto fields, which we cross.  The next point of interest on the walk is “Meeting of the Waters”.  This is where the River Greta meets the Tees and is a great little spot for a break and to enjoy the view.

Whorlton

We will continue on from here to the village of Whorlton.  This is where we will stop for lunch.  There is a pub there called Fernaville’s Rest  and it serves a lovely lunch, if required.

Leaving Whorlton, we immediately cross the Whorlton Bridge.  This is a chain link suspension bridge, somewhat like the Union Chain Bridge, which we visited earlier this year.

Whorlton Bridge is also where the Teesdale Way crosses the Tees again.  We follow the route back towards Barnard Castle from here.  The route takes a higher path than before, providing more panoramic views of the area.  Near the Grade I listed Mortham Tower, which is now a private residence, the path takes us back to the Meeting of the Waters.  However, this time we are on the side where the rivers meet.

Egglestone Abbey

We follow the path alongside the river all the way to Egglestone Abbey.  This is a small monastery that is managed by English Heritage.  It is free to enter, so we will take a little time to explore, before continuing on.

It’s only a short stroll back to Barnard Castle, where we will cross the river once again.  We will walk into town and, no doubt, find a charming little tea shop for some refreshments.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Julie and Martin x

Gallery

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