A tale of three bus stations by Dick Charlton (Durham)
February 28th
The gentleman on local TV promised a grey day with snow. Thinking most of the country walks would be soggy five of us opted for another railway walk in County Durham. The fearsome five are Ben, Dave, Harry, John H. and me.
Another walk that can be done without a map but should you insist you need three:
OS Explorer 305 Bishop Auckland
OS Explorer 307 Consett
OS Explorer 308 Durham and Sunderland.
We met on Eldon Square bus station in Newcastle;
Eldon Square Bus Station, Newcastle
And from there we went by bus to Durham;
Durham Bus Station. The city is getting a new one, eventually
And from there we caught a bus to Crook;
Crook, bus station and a car park! Best I could do, sorry girls.
Once off the bus we headed across the car park to a street in the north west corner. Like an old fashioned shopping street, plenty of small shops selling a whole variety of things.
At the end of the street we joined a footpath that had once been a wagon way for the moving of coal. The path, Deerness Valley Railway Path, climbed steadily for just over a mile, the only real climb of the day until we reached the road at Stanley Crook.
Close to Stanley Crook we passed this interesting memorial to an unfortunate young man who had died far too young.
We crossed the road and followed the well marked trail on solid ground with only the occasional puddle. The walk passes number of Durham pit villages, easily recognisable as small terraces of neat houses.
One of the first was Waterhouses:
Erected for the queens Golden Jubilee in 2002.
We had started the walk in a light drizzle which turned to heavy but wet snow which didn't settle on the ground. It did however easily persuade us to stop for a Herbie under a bridge.
Shelter from the storm. Nowhere to sit but dry at least: Ben's ginger biscuits, Bliss Bars, flapjack and almond slices, and hot coffee to keep the cold out.
Refuelled we headed on to Durham, passing the village of Esh Winning, a name that suggests it was a working mine. Miners were said to "win" the coal.
Much of the path follows the Deerness River through woodland which has taken over at the side of the old lines too. Most of the walk is through pretty country, we thought we might return in spring or summer.
Walking on we passed between Ushaw Moor and New Brancepeth before joining the Lanchester Valley Railway Path for a short distance.
The junction of three railway paths; Deerness Valley, Lanchester Valley and the Brandon to Bishop Auckland Railway Path
Turn on to the path on the left.
We turned off the railway path and walked up to a road, turned right and crossed the bridge over the East Coast Main Line and walked to the roundabout, Stone Bridge, at the bottom of the hill. Once safely across the junction we turned left then right and climbed uphill to a cross roads. Here we turned left then took the path through the grounds of Ustinov College.
Art work in the grounds of Ustinov College. The college was originally Neville's Cross Teacher Training College (I think) but is now the Graduate College for Durham University.
It is named for Sir Peter Ustinov, actor, who was once the University Chancellor. He is famous for doing impressions of a chicken on the Michael Parkinson Show where he also admitted to having done National Service and to have met Noel Coward.
Once through the grounds we followed the road downhill, past a school and at the next junctionkept right and walked the street parallel to the River Wear. It's worth going this way for the views of the Cathedral and Castle.
The Cathedral of St. Cuthbert, Durham's Norman/Gothic masterpiece.
The castle, part of the university.
Soon we were back at the bus station and we took the first bus back to Newcastle. Once there we went to the Three Bulls Heads pub in the Haymarket before going our separate ways home.
Contains OS data, copyright. Crown copyright and data base right 2020
The walk is just over 11 miles, easy going on the old railway line.
A Matrix for the day
steps miles
NAK 25441 11.24
Dave's NAK 1 22442 10.98
"""""""""""""2 22364 10.94
""""""""""""""SM 22385 10.95
OUTDOOR GPS 11.14
Not a day for photos but here's a few:
February 28th
The gentleman on local TV promised a grey day with snow. Thinking most of the country walks would be soggy five of us opted for another railway walk in County Durham. The fearsome five are Ben, Dave, Harry, John H. and me.
Another walk that can be done without a map but should you insist you need three:
OS Explorer 305 Bishop Auckland
OS Explorer 307 Consett
OS Explorer 308 Durham and Sunderland.
We met on Eldon Square bus station in Newcastle;
And from there we went by bus to Durham;
And from there we caught a bus to Crook;
Once off the bus we headed across the car park to a street in the north west corner. Like an old fashioned shopping street, plenty of small shops selling a whole variety of things.
The Deerness Path is well marked at regular intervals, offering encouragement on a cold, windy day.
We crossed the road and followed the well marked trail on solid ground with only the occasional puddle. The walk passes number of Durham pit villages, easily recognisable as small terraces of neat houses.
One of the first was Waterhouses:
We had started the walk in a light drizzle which turned to heavy but wet snow which didn't settle on the ground. It did however easily persuade us to stop for a Herbie under a bridge.
Refuelled we headed on to Durham, passing the village of Esh Winning, a name that suggests it was a working mine. Miners were said to "win" the coal.
Much of the path follows the Deerness River through woodland which has taken over at the side of the old lines too. Most of the walk is through pretty country, we thought we might return in spring or summer.
Walking on we passed between Ushaw Moor and New Brancepeth before joining the Lanchester Valley Railway Path for a short distance.
We turned off the railway path and walked up to a road, turned right and crossed the bridge over the East Coast Main Line and walked to the roundabout, Stone Bridge, at the bottom of the hill. Once safely across the junction we turned left then right and climbed uphill to a cross roads. Here we turned left then took the path through the grounds of Ustinov College.
It is named for Sir Peter Ustinov, actor, who was once the University Chancellor. He is famous for doing impressions of a chicken on the Michael Parkinson Show where he also admitted to having done National Service and to have met Noel Coward.
Once through the grounds we followed the road downhill, past a school and at the next junctionkept right and walked the street parallel to the River Wear. It's worth going this way for the views of the Cathedral and Castle.
Soon we were back at the bus station and we took the first bus back to Newcastle. Once there we went to the Three Bulls Heads pub in the Haymarket before going our separate ways home.
Contains OS data, copyright. Crown copyright and data base right 2020
The walk is just over 11 miles, easy going on the old railway line.
A Matrix for the day
steps miles
NAK 25441 11.24
Dave's NAK 1 22442 10.98
"""""""""""""2 22364 10.94
""""""""""""""SM 22385 10.95
OUTDOOR GPS 11.14
Not a day for photos but here's a few:
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