8 miles

Explorer Map 305 - Bishop Auckland

The majority of this walk uses the Brandon Bishop Auckland Railway Walkway, starting from the parking area at Brancepeth.
Just outside Willington, a footpath descends to the River Wear, and then follows the River Wear to return to Willington.
The walking is all very straightforward with no navigation problems.
The only advice would be to avoid doing the walk in wet weather when the River Wear could be in flood, as the river banks are prone to flooding.

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.

Start from the small parking area at the site of Brancepeth Station (NZ219 382).
Follow the railway walkway to Willington(about 2.5 miles).
The walkway emerges into the centre of Willington opposite a memorial erected to Lieutenant George McKean, VC MM MC, This memorial now occupies the site where Willington Railway Station used to be located.
Continue past the memorial and follow the walkway to Sunnybrow.
Past Sunnybrow you come to a farm track, where you turn left. Follow the track to a footpath which takes you down to the River Wear.
At the river, follow the river bank footpath for 0/5 mile.
Now take the footpath up to the War Memorial.
Here turn left and follow the main road back to where it meets the railway walkway, from where you return to Brancepeth.