Description
Hownsgill Viaduct
The Hownsgill Viaduct walk is a gorgeous walk that is only a stones throw away from the historical industrial town of Consett. There are woods, waterways and open countryside, which is mostly based around the disused railways that used to service the famous steel works of Consett.
Details
| Hills: |  |
Some small hills |
| Distance: |  |
Medium distance |
| Grade: |  |
Moderate (Distance) |
| Map: |  |
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| This walk is on OS map 307 Consett & Derwent Reservoir. Click on map image to buy this map. | ||
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Start
We start this beautiful and interesting walk in Allensford Country Park. This park is part of the Land of Oak and Iron, which celebrates the industry and history of the Derwent Valley area. As this is a circular walk, we will return here, where we will end with the tearoom.
River Derwent
After leaving the main grassy area we will follow the River Derwent until we reach the Allensford Woods Nature Reserve which has a young plantation as well as a mature wood. The difference between these two areas is interesting and very varied.
Most of this walk is on public footpaths/permissive footpaths but we do have a small section on the edge of a housing estate.
Under the viaduct
After passing some allotments, which have a lot of farmyard fowl and can be quite noisy. We come to an open grassland area when we walk under the Viaduct, which is an impressive structure. When we recce’d this walk there was an abundance of elf cup fungi, which we hadn’t seen previously.
Following this we join one of the two railway paths on this walk. This is the Stanhope and Tyne Railway, which we walk along for about a mile over the Hownsgill Viaduct. From here we can see the route we will have walked earlier.
Lunch
There is a picnic area just after the viaduct, which is where we will stop for lunch. This was the site of the old station.
After lunch we will walk along the road for a short distance before crossing a field and crossing a stream. We pass Dean Howl Farm which is very much a dairy farm.
Nearing the end of the walk we come to a pretty waterfall and we cross the river by a footbridge at the bottom. It really is a lovely sight and very different to the rest of the walk.
We cross a road to come back to Allensford Country Park, the end of the walk the location of the tearoom.
Hope to see you there.
Julie & Martin x
Gallery – Hownsgill Viaduct
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