The Grey Panthers

Park in the main car park in Bishop Auckland (fee payable).
Walk towards the Newton Cap Viaduct, and past to Bridge Street, Descend Bridge Street to the Newton Cap road bridge by the River Weir.
Follow the footpath along The Batts and past, , to where the road bends at Binchester Plantation.
Take the footpath that leads to Bellburn Woods
Turn right into the woodland and follow the main footpath all the way to meet the railway walkway.
Turn right on the walkway and follow it all the way to where it exits at a traffic roundabout.
Now take the footpath North to Bishop Auckland.At the top of the hill marked by the Auckland Tower, turn right to enter the Palace grounds. Continue on the footpath to the Deer Shelter.
Retrace your steps to the Auckland Tower and continue Westwards to return to the car park.

A map of the route followed has been plotted on the Ordinance 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 Ordinance Survey map, select the icon in the lower right of the screen. If the route is displayed 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.