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6 .0 miles
Explorer Map 305, - Bishop Auckland
A year-round walk, starting from a well used and much loved Country
Park.
There are no gradients to speak of, and the route is essentially easy
to navigate, with just a couple of stiles. .
The half-way point of Bishop Middleham is a delightful and peaceful
village, well worth calling-in at.
And there is plenty to see and enjoy in Hardwick Park itself.
A map of the route followed has been plotted on the Ordnace Survey
mapping website, By selecting the ink below you will be taken to this
map, - complete with distances and heights marked on the route.
OS
Link
The route shown is on a standard map. To view the route
on an Ordnace Survey map, select the icon in the lower right of the
screen. If the route is dispkayed on a 1:50 OS map, zoom in to see the
details on a 1:25 OS map.
There is also the option to view the route in a satellite image.
Park in the Visitor Centre car park for Hardwick Park (NZ344
287), - fee to pay.
Head East beside the boundary of the Country Park. This is a broad track
and easy to follow.~
Where the track turns sharp right (if you continue ahead, instead, you
will reach Brakes Farm) continue until you reach a Bridleway sign on your
left that directs you towards Bishop MIddleham.
Follow the bridleway until you reach an old railway trackbed at NZ332
302.
Here turn left and after about 1/4 mile continue along the clear and well-defined
track to Bishop Middleham.
When you reach Bishop Middleham, turn right into Church Street and head
for St. Michael's Church.
Continue past the church and make for Front Street, where you turn right.
Continue Eastwards past the junction where there is a sculpture commemorating
the association of Bishop Middleham with the Bishops of Durham.
About 200 yards oast this sculpture is a track that heads South.
Continue on this track to cross the River Skerne.
When you reach a branch in the track, turn right to head almost due South
over a Golf Course.
Where the track over the Golf Course reaches a plantation, there is a
track on your left that heads through the plantation, eventually meeting
the A177 main road.
However, before you reach the A177 main road there is a track on your
right that takes you to the Hardwick Hall Hotel.
From there, make your way back to the Country Park.
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