Teesdale Way Section 8 (Gainford to Darlington)

Introduction

Section 8 of the Teesdale Way links the village of Gainford to the outskirts of the ever expanding borough town of Darlington, both within the ceremonial county of Durham. Pleasant villages with welcoming pubs and cafes punctuate this section. The walking is easy on narrow river terraces, where Permian limestone bluffs have been smoothed by glacial drift, on a section of the river where quarrying for aggregates (sand and gravel) has featured periodically. Tree species consisting typically of alder, oak, ash, sycamore, horse chestnut, sweet chestnut and willow proliferate as the river – downstream from High Coniscliffe – begins to meander noticeably.

Stats at a Glance

Distance 12.6 km/7.8 miles | Height Gain 32 m/105 ft | Maximum Elevation 75 m/244 ft (Gainford) | Going Generally good, muddy in places. Sheltered on trails and road through farmland and woodlands | Navigation (OS Maps Explorer 304; Landranger 92; Landranger 93); GPS File |Hospitality & Supplies Gainford (BB; PH; GS; FF); High Coniscliffe (PH); Low Coniscliffe (PH); Darlington (All) [1 km] | Start Village Cross, Gainford NZ 170168 (w3w: fanfare.effort.puddings) | Finish Broken Scar Picnic Area, Darlington NZ 259138 (w3w: flip.grain.mice) | Grade Easy | GALLERY

Trail Updates

The following updates have been published by The Durham Cow for this section: 060625

Description

The medieval village of Gainford is built at an important crossing point on the river. Standing on the site of an Anglo-Saxon monastery, St Mary’s Church, although dating from the c12th, includes Roman, Saxon and Viking stonework. On the other side of the expansive village green is the stone cross that commemorates Queen Victoria’s 1897 diamond jubilee and which I’ve chosen to mark the start of this section (and finish of the last).

Another of Gainford’s attractions comes only a few strides further on in the slightly austere facade of Gainford Academy. The former Victorian school counts the world-famous comedian, Stan Laurel, among its pupils. Off the trail, on the edge of the village, stood another old school, the somewhat grim, red-bricked St Peter’s. Built around in 1899 it became derelict and was demolished following a fire in 2016. In 2025 it’s been reduced to a huge pile of bricks – possibly to form the foundations of whatever is to come.

Finally leaving Teesdale for the flatter Tees Valley, the route returns to the trail via a tunnel under the embankment of the former Forcett Railway that serviced quarries on the other side of the river. The remains of Gainford Mill – one of several on this section – lie hidden away on the riverbank overlooked by Snow Hall, owned by the Raine family for almost 200 years. Further along the ridge is Gallows Hill, believed to have been a baronial place of execution.

The site of a second mill announces the trail’s arrival in Piercebridge, best known for the Roman fort of Morbium (or Magis) which you can visit for free. The fort was built in the 3rd century to defend the bridge on Dere Street (the extensive remains of which are land-locked across the river. As was frequently the case with Roman forts, a civilian settlement or ‘vicus’ developed alongside it – this one being on the site of Tofts Field, crossed by the trail when leaving the village.

The George Hotel – positioned between the Roman bridge and the current bridge – is a c15th coaching inn, home to the actual clock associated with the poem ‘Grandfather’s Clock’ by Henry Clay Work and which can still be seen standing in the hotel today. Piercebridge’s current bridge is on the site of a significant skirmish during the first period of the English Civil War. On 1st December 1642, a party of Royalists led by William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, successfully defended the bridge at that time, against Parliamentary forces led by Thomas Fairfax.

Further downriver is the site of Carlbury Mill which was destroyed by fire in 1889. After a short, wooded incline (the only significant ascent on this section) the route reaches the main road. On entering High Coniscliffe the trail descends past the c12th church, with an extremely rare dedication to St Edwin, back towards the river. The church sits on a promontory of Permian limestone having left the much older Carboniferous bedrock behind. After an easy walk on the looping riverside trail (where there are a couple of obvious shortcuts) it passes under the A1M motorway to reach the medieval village of Low Coniscliffe. Although there are no extant remains, the site of the old manorial hall is visible in the meadow between the motorway and the village.

Beyond Low Coniscliffe, the trail takes to the busy A67, entering the outskirts of Darlington past a distinctive red-bricked building that was Tees Cottage Pumping Station. This was once Darlington’s main waterworks and is now a heritage museum. The finish of Section 8 – at Broken Scar Picnic Area – is only a few metres further on.