The Teesdale Way is a long-distance walk between the Cumbrian

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of highland, uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "Vertebral column, backbone of England" because of its length and position, the ra ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

coast of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The walk is in length; it links in with other long-distance walks such as the

Pennine Way The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kir ...

and the E2 European Walk between

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

and

Stranraer Stranraer ( , in Scotland also ; ), also known as The Toon or The Cleyhole, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on Loch Ryan and the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland. Stranraer is Dumfries ...

The route

The Teesdale way starts at Dufton in Cumbria as part of the Pennine way, but does not become its own path (with waymarkers) until it reaches Middleton-in-Teesdale. The path ends at South Gare in

Warrenby Warrenby is a depopulated area of Redcar in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas ...

near

Redcar Redcar is a seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast in the Redcar and Cleveland unitary authority. It is in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England, and is located east of Middlesbrough. The Teesside built-up area's Redcar subdiv ...

, having passed through the heavily industrialised

Teesside Teesside () is an urban area around the River Tees in North East England. Straddling the border between County Durham and North Yorkshire, it spans the boroughs of Borough of Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough, Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, Stockton ...

area, consisting of

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

and

Thornaby-on-Tees Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north of York and south-east of Middlesbrough. On the south bank of the River Tees, Thornaby falls within th ...

. This gives a great insight into the once proud ship building and industrial heritage of the

North East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

. Between Middleton-in-Teesdale and Middlesbrough, the way runs for jointly with the European E2 path. Between

Yarm Yarm-on-Tees, or simply Yarm, is a market town in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on a meander of the River Tees, extending south-east to the River Leven, North Yorkshire, River Leven and south to the village of Kirklevington. A civil parish i ...

and Croft-on-Tees the river goes through the meandering lowland section of the

Tees Valley Tees Valley is a combined authority area in North East England, around the lower River Tees. The area is not a geographical valley. The combined authority covers five council areas: Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland ...

. As the river flows through Upper

Teesdale Teesdale is a dale, or valley, located principally in County Durham, North East England. It is one of the Durham Dales, which are themselves part of the North Pennines, the northernmost part of the Pennine uplands. The dale is named after ...

, it passes through the historic settlements of

Piercebridge Piercebridge is a village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington and the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is situated a few miles west of the town of Darlington. It is on the site of a Roman fort of AD 260–270, which was built ...

and

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum has an 18th-century Silver Swan automaton exhibit ...

. The route can also be seen as starting at the county boundaries between Cumbria and County Durham near to Cow Green Reservoir. Also in Upper Teesdale the walk makes a U-turn at Eggleston Hall, heading down the other side of the dale, back to Barnard Castle.

Thornaby Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north of York and south-east of Middlesbrough. On the south bank of the River Tees, Thornaby falls within th ...

and Bassleton woods are connected to each other. They are located in Thornaby, in the

Borough of Stockton-on-Tees The Borough of Stockton-on-Tees is a unitary authority area in England with borough status in County Durham and North Yorkshire. In 2021, it had a population of 196,600. Its main settlement and namesake of the borough is Stockton-on-Tees, which ...

. A section of the way between Middlesbrough and Redcar was known locally as 'The Black Path' and was used by steelworkers. At , Thornaby Woods is a large area of ancient woodland and features trees such as

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

and wych-elm. Roe deer have been seen in and around Thornaby and Bassleton woods.

Sights and attractions

Industrial Teesside

* Teesside Steel Works, Lackenby *

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since its opening in 1995. It has an all-seated capacity of 34,742, although provisional planning permission is in place to expan ...

, Middlesbrough *

Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge The Tees Transporter Bridge, also referred to as the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge or, locally, as The Transporter, is a bridge over the River Tees in northern England. The northern side is in Port Clarence (Stockton-on-Tees) and the souther ...

Tees Corridor

* Teessaurus Park * Tees Newport Bridge * A19 Tees Viaduct *

Tees Barrage The Tees Barrage is a barrage and road bridge across the River Tees, Northern England, just upriver of Blue House Point and is used to control the flow of the river, preventing flooding and the effects of tidal change. It is between the towns ...

and

Teesside White Water Course The Tees Barrage International White Water Course, originally the Teesside White Water Course, is an artificial whitewater course on the north bank of the River Tees, in northern England. It is part of the Tees Barrage and is located in the ...

Infinity Bridge The Infinity Bridge is a public pedestrian and cycle footbridge across the River Tees in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees in northern England. The bridge is situated one kilometre downriver of Stockton town centre, between the Princess of Wales B ...

Princess of Wales Bridge The Princess of Wales Bridge, sometimes referred to as the Diana Bridge or the Princess Diana Bridge, is a dual carriageway road bridge named after the late Diana, Princess of Wales. It carries Council of Europe Boulevard across the River Tees, ...

* Teesquay Millennium Bridge * Victoria Bridge

Nature reserves

Maze Park Nature Reserve Maze Park is a urban nature reserve in Middlesbrough, England on the south bank of the Tees on part of the former Tees Marshalling Yard. It was created by the Teesside Development Corporation and is owned and run by the Tees Valley Wildlife T ...

, Middlesbrough * Black Bobbies Field Nature Reserve, Thornaby-on-Tees * Bowesfield Nature Reserve, Thornaby-on-Tees * Bassleton Wood, Thornaby-on-Tees * Gainford Spa Nature Reserve, Gainford

Waterfalls

* High Cup Nick *

Cauldron Snout Cauldron Snout is a waterfall, cascade on the upper reaches of the River Tees in Northern England, immediately below the dam of the Cow Green Reservoir. It is well upstream of the High Force waterfall, and is on the boundary between County Durham ...

High Force High Force is a waterfall on the River Tees, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, Teesdale, England. The waterfall is within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the European Geopark. The whole of the River Tees plunges over ...

Low Force Low Force is an 18-foot (5.5m) high set of falls on the River Tees, England, UK. Further upstream is the High Force waterfall. Low Force is also the site of the Wynch Bridge, completed in 1830. It is suggested by signs at each end that only one ...

Museums

* Great Holme Museum, Eaglescliffe *

Bowes Museum The Bowes Museum is an art museum, art gallery in the town of Barnard Castle, in County Durham in northern England. It was built to designs by Jules Pellechet and John Edward Watson to house the art collection of John Bowes (art collector), Jo ...

, Barnard Castle

Stately homes

Rokeby Park Rokeby Park is a country house in the Palladian style in the civil parish of Rokeby, County Durham, Rokeby, in Northern England. It is close to the confluence of the River Tees and River Greta, Durham, River Greta, near Greta Bridge in what is n ...

, Whorlton * Eggleston Hall

Ruins

*Medieval village of Newsham *Sockburn Church Ruins *Castle Hill, Blackwell *Baydale Chapel Ruins *Gainforth Mill * Piercebridge Roman Fort * Piercebridge Roman Bridge *Mortham Tower, near Greta Bridge * Egglestone Abbey * Cotherstone Castle

Village churches

*St John's Church, Low Dinsdale *All Saints Church, Girsby *All Saints Church, Hurworth-on-Tees *St Peter's Church, Croft-on-Tees *St Edwin's Church, Coniscliffe *St Mary's Church, Piercebridge *St Mary's Church, Gainford *St Andrew's Church, Winston *St Mary's Church, Whorton *St Romald's Church, Romaldkirk

Other

South Gare South Gare is an area of reclaimed land and breakwater on the southern side of the mouth of the River Tees in Redcar and Cleveland, England. It is accessed by taking the South Gare Road (private road) from Fisherman's Crossing at the western e ...

* Butterfly World, Eaglescliffe * Whorlton Lido * Deepdale Aqueduct * Octagonal Market Cross, Barnard Castle.

Settlements

Dufton Dufton is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies in the Eden Valley and below Great Dun Fell. It is mostly around 180m above sea level. At the 2011 census the parish had a population of 201 ...

Middleton-in-Teesdale Middleton-in-Teesdale is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is in Teesdale, on the River Tees's north banks, and surrounded by the North Pennines. The town is between Eggleston and Newbiggin, Teesdale, Newbiggin, a few ...

* Eggleston *

Romaldkirk Romaldkirk is a village in Teesdale, in the Pennines of England. The village lies within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, but has been administered by County Durham since 1974. It is thought that the name might be deri ...

* Startforth *

* Whorlton * Winston * Gainford *

* Carlbury * High Coniscliffe * Merrybent * Low Coniscliffe * Blackwell * Stapleton * Croft-on-Tees * Hurworth Place *

Hurworth-on-Tees Hurworth-on-Tees is a village in the borough of Darlington, within the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated in the civil parish of Hurworth. The village lies to the south of Darlington on the River Tees, close to its mee ...

* Neasham * Sockburn * Girsby * Low Dinsdale * Over Dinsdale *

Middleton St George Middleton St George is a large village and civil parish in the borough of Darlington (borough), Darlington and the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated approximately east of Darlington. Demographics According to the ...

* Middleton One Row * Low Worsall * Aislaby *

Eaglescliffe Eaglescliffe is a village in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. It is in the civil parish of Egglescliffe. The village was formerly known as Eaglescliffe Junction, being formed around . In 2011, the Office for National S ...

Preston-on-Tees Preston-on-Tees, locally called Preston, is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 1,689. It is home to Preston Hall and its accompanying publ ...

North Ormesby North Ormesby is a part of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. The area has gained the common nickname of Doggy, it is of unknown origin. Population of the now former "North Ormesby and Brambles Farm" ward was 6,268, at the 2011 census, ...

Dormanstown Dormanstown is an area of Redcar in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It was named after and built by the Dorman Long iron and steelworks in the 20th century. It was originally built to ...

References

{{reflist

External links

The Durham Cow website - breaks the route down and has detailed mapsGPS walking and cycling webpage
Long-distance footpaths in England Tourist attractions in County Durham Footpaths in North Yorkshire Geography of County Durham