The Teesdale Way
The Teesdale Way is a long distance walking trail crossing three counties in the North East of England. The western end lies in the sleepy medieval village of Dufton, on the edge of Cumbria’s Eden Valley while, in the east, on the North Sea coast, there’s a choice of either Teesmouth (remote) or Redcar (busy). Between them, in County Durham and Teesside, the route passes through historic Northern towns including Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Yarm, Darlington, Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale, as well as the many pleasant villages in between.
The route rarely strays far from the River Tees, and like the Weardale Way, can be walked equally well in either direction. We’ve chosen to present it west-to-east so that, in most cases, the wind will be on your back, something you’ll be grateful for if caught in the rain when crossing the Pennines. There’s no doubt however, that many prefer the increasing physical challenge and remoteness that comes with tackling it in the opposite direction but maps and GPS work well in either direction.
National Trails
You should be aware that neither the Teesdale Way, nor the Weardale Way, is a National Trail and lack the degree of infrastructure associated with trails such as the Pennine Way or Cleveland Way. This means that access and waymarking may not always be what you’d expect. If you’re motivated to try and change the situation you probably already know what to do (feel free to let us know where you had issues but remember that we’re not the authority). In general however, other than in late spring and summer, when vegetation is most abundant, the trails are easy enough to follow if you take along a sense of adventure, a good map and maybe a copy of our TEESDALE WAY POCKET GUIDE
Change is a constant feature of long-distance trails. Although we try to publish updates where appropriate it’s not always possible as we rely on feedback from walkers. We also offer – where we’re able – alternative routings to help walkers avoid unnecessary diversions and closures.
Stats at a Glance
Distance 148 km/92 miles | Height Gain 1476 m/4842 ft | Maximum Elevation 600 m/1968 ft (Narrow Gate, High Cup Gill) | Number of Sections 14 | Average Distance per Section 10.6 km/6.6 miles | River Length 160 km/99 miles; Tees Head to Cow Green Reservoir 14 km/8.7 miles; Cow Green Reservoir 3.6 km/2.2 miles; Cow Green Dam to Teesmouth 142 km/88.2 miles | Plotaroute Route File
Click the PLAY arrow on the map to view the route on Plotaroute [How to Use Plotaroute]. You can download the FREE ROUTE FILE (in a variety of formats) from our page on Plotaroute by clicking on the link to the GPS File in the Stats above (takes you to the appropriate page on Plotaroute). Feel free to browse all the other routes you’ll find there.
The Teesdale Way – Section by Section
Section 1 Dufton to Cow Green (14.4 km/8.9 miles)
Section 2 Cow Green to Holwick Head (10.9 km/6.8 miles)
Section 3 Holwick Head to Middleton-in-Teesdale (7.3 km/4.5 miles)
Section 4 Middleton-in-Teesdale to Romaldkirk (9 km/5.6 miles)
Section 5 Romaldkirk to Barnard Castle (9.7 km/6 miles)
Section 6 Barnard Castle to Whorlton (6.8 km/4.3 miles)
Section 7 Whorlton to Gainford (9.2 km/5.7 miles)
Section 8 Gainford to Darlington (12.6 km/7.8 miles)
Section 9 Darlington to Hurworth-on-Tees (9.4 km/5.8 miles)
Section 10 Hurworth-on-Tees to Middleton One Row (9.9 km/6.2 miles)
Section 11 Middleton One Row to Yarm (11.7 km/7.3 miles)
Section 12 Yarm to Stockton-on-Tees (12.2 km/7.6 miles)
Section 13 Stockton-on-Tees to South Bank (12.8 km/7.9 miles)
Section 14 South Bank to Teesmouth or Redcar (11.9 km/7.4 miles OR 10.6 km/6.5 miles )
Support Us
We’d love to learn about YOUR walking experience or YOUR favourite places, historic or contemporary, on or near the route. Just drop us a line in the comments below.
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Hi, we are using your guide to walking the Teesdale Way in sections. Next weekend we are staying at The George in Pierebridge and are intending going west to Winston and beyond. Unfortunately on Google Maps the path is closed, do you know if that is correct?. Would appreciate your advice!. Pete.
Hi Pete, I can’t say at the moment (I have to rely on people leaving feedback) but if you can wait a couple of days I might be able to confirm it personally, or at least let you know otherwise. Where are you looking, specifically, that shows the path as being closed? Is the closure west or east of Gainford? Also, I’d be interested to get your feedback on The George when you stay there. It’s been closed for a long time and I noticed, only recently, when cycling past, that it seemed to have reopened – although I had to look twice! All the best, Scott
I completed the whole thing last week. What an adventure. As well as OS maps I regularly checked this guide on my phone – making particular use of the mileage stats of each of the sections – to help me make strategic decisions about how far to push on each day. This was really useful. Thank you for this.
I’d recommend the route to any walker. Pretty much all of it is very well signposted but a map will make your journey foolproof. Every section of the route has something to capture the imagination. I also was lucky to have glorious walking weather throughout (not too hot, barely any rain) so I will count my blessings there.
I didn’t plan on doing a video blog of my journey but I took so many photos and videos that one more or less made itself so here it is for anyone interested:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pI_JyX2K9T4
Ps. WEAR FULL LENGTH TROUSERS FOR THE WOODED SECTION BETWEEN NEWSHAM AND LOW TOWN. NO END OF GIANT HOGWEED AND NETTLES.
We walked the Teesdale Way between Thornaby Station and Eaglescliffe Station – having left the car at Eaglescliffe – in glorious sunshine. The Way is not marked at the west end of Bowesfield Nature reserve and the intended steps to cross the A66 is fenced off, so inaccessible – needed a long detour to get across the main road. The up to date OS map is not accurate/helpful , unlike a local resident who gave us the information we needed to get to Preston Park.
Hi Millie, sorry it’s taken me so long to reply but I’ll have a look at this shortly and post and update. Many thanks – much appreciated. Scott
is there a baggage transfer service on the Teesdale Way?
Hi Anna,
Not yet I’m afraid (not to my knowledge anyway). It would definitely be handy though. Scott
Hi, thanks a lot for the information on this route, running it next Tuesday (23rd). It really helped to decide the best locations for my support crew to meet me.
kind regards
Tom
Hi Tom,
My pleasure. It’s great to know it’s helped. Let me know how you get on – and don’t forget to take some photos.
It doesn’t matter how well you’ve prepared, sometimes you just need a bit of luck, so all the best.
Scott
Hi Tom,
How did you get on with your Teesdale Way run? Such a beautiful first section. I love running up there!
Kind regards,
Owain
brilliant information , i hope to try this later on in 2021, hopefully camping.
Thanks very much James. Go for it and let me know how you get on.
All the best
Scott
I’m walking this route in sections, live locally to the route in Stockton. I’ve already covered Dufton to Barnard Castle and now just done Barnard Castle to Low Conscliffe. Also once I’m done with the main route itself I’m going back to cover the other route variations. I’m making a video list on YouTube for this walk, my channel is Paddy’s Adventures.
Just had a quick look Paddy – looks great so I’m going to save it for leisure viewing this evening. I’ll give it a link. Keep in touch.
All the best
Scott
Giant Hog-weed, I have notice a lot of Giant hog-weed encroaching on the path on the YARM to Stockton on Tees section immediately after the Blue bell pub, I have informed Stockton council but they say the are not responsible for the land, please take care
Hi Dave,
Sorry about the delay in replying but I got a similar response from the Council. Giant Hog-weed proliferates on the lower reaches of the Tees; I didn’t notice it so much on the Yarm to Stockton side, but it’s rampant on the Middleton-One-Row to Yarm section. Thanks very much for the info; I’ll make sure to mention it in the book. Thanks for taking the time to comment. All the best. Scott
We’ve had a brilliant day today – walking Section 1 (Dufton to Cauldron Snout and Cow Green).
Hope we can access the details for Section 2 via the link soon!
Glad you enjoyed it – fantastic weather. I think I’ve fixed the problem: you should be able to access the other sections now. Thanks for bearing with me. Happy walkings.
All the best. Scott
Hi, your Teesdale Way links (above) are not working
Thanks for that Mike,
I’m aware of the problem and will deal with it imminently as I’m returning from holiday today.
Best Regards
Scott