Overview

This route was created and inspired during Lockdown. If you were not able to travel anywhere, you had to make do with what was on your doorstep. Despite initial ambiguity about how long you were allowed to exercise for the criteria was merely that you had to do it starting from home without driving, and no overnight stays. Well this one ticked the boxed and then some. The fact that the route goes to Barnard Castle may or may not be coincidence…

Historic Teesdale

This route goes from Piercebridge to Barnard Castle using both sides of the River Tees. The outbound section is on the south side of the river, largely in North Yorkshire, and the return leg in County Durham, on the north bank, mainly using the Teesdale Way. There is so much to take in that you could take forever and a day to complete the route. As with the Darlo Dash, it could be done in sections as a series of walks. Highlights include Roman Piercebridge, ruined chapel and dovecote at Barforth, Winston Bridge, the maypole in Ovington, Wycliffe Church, Whorlton Bridge, Mortham Tower, the Dairy Bridge at the Meeting Of The Waters, Abbey Bridge, Egglestone Abbey and Barnard Castle itself.

Route Overview

My original route was a 36 mile circuit literally starting and finishing from my front door. For practical reasons, I have picked Piercebridge as the start and end point. It means the route is entirely circular with no out and back section. There is lots of parking at Piercebridge and it makes the route approx. 28 miles which is a nice Winter challenge distance. Navigation-wise, the outbound leg is more interesting. There isn’t a waymarked route on the south bank of the river, so I have used a combination of paths, bridleways and roads where no other option was available. There is room for error on this section, but generally if you are heading westwards and keep the river in relative proximity on your right, you’re doing OK. The return leg is pretty much simply a case of following Teesdale Way signs as you head back east to Piercebridge.

Doing the Run in Sections

As the route lies on two sides of the river Tees, you would think it lends itself nicely to be broken down into sections of you want to recce them before doing the whole thing. However there are very few bridges where you can cross. Between Piercebridge and Barnard Castle there are bridges at Winston and Abbey Bridge. The bridge at Barforth/ Gainford is not on a right of way, and the bridge at Whorlton is closed for repairs.

Want to go Further?

I have ran this from Darlington and back, using a section of the Darlo Dash (Walworth to Piercebridge) to get to the start. At the other end, I have also carried onto Cotherstone instead of turning round at Barney, which made it a 45 mile run from Darlington and back. There are lots of options to turn this route into something for yourself.