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 Cumbrian village of Dufton, in the Eden Valley, while across the North Pennines, on the North Sea coast, there’s a choice of either remote Teesmouth or bustling Redcar. On the way you’ll pass through historic towns in County Durham and Teesside including Middleton-in-Teesdale, Barnard Castle, Darlington, Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough and many pleasant villages in between.
The route rarely strays far from the River Tees and like the Weardale Way, it can be walked equally well in either direction. I’ve chosen to present it west-to-east so that, in most cases, the wind is on your back (something you’ll be grateful for if caught in the rain when crossing the Pennines. I don’t doubt that some will prefer the increasing physical challenge and sense of remoteness that comes with tackling it the other way around but the route files we supply work well in either direction.
Bear in mind that the Teesdale Way is not a National Trail and lacks the investment and infrastructure associated with, say, the Pennine Way or Cleveland Way, both of which ARE National Trails. My goal has always been to help promote the trail as the fantastic resource I’ve found it to be and on which I’ve spent so much time over the decades. Wherever I personally encounter, or am made aware of, issues I post trail updates as well as promoting feedback from walkers who are kind enough to leave helpful comments on this site.
So feel free to drop me a line if you have a particular concern but please bear in mind that this is an unpaid, private resource and not the trail authority. For an official response issues should be reported to the Public Rights of Way team at the respective authority. For Durham County Council this can be done by emailing prow@durham.gov.uk. In well over ten years I’ve seen the trail improve slowly but surely and, even though some parts might never reach the standard elsewhere on the trail, I consider it fairly easy to follow, especially with an appropriate OS map and a copy of the TEESDALE WAY POCKET GUIDE.
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 | GPS File
Plotaroute
I use Plotaroute for all my route planning and is where I keep all of my route files. Clicking a GPS File link in Stats at a Glance takes you to the appropriate page on Plotaroute from where you can download the FREE route file in a variety of formats. How to Use Plotaroute.
Click the PLAY arrow on the map to view the Teesdale Way in its entirety. You’ll also need to visit the individual section pages for links to the most up to date files we have (it’s not possible to keep renewing the whole route file every time we’re informed of a temporary diversion).
Whole Route Files
Although the file in Stats at a Glance above is for the whole route IT ISN’T ROUTINELY UPDATED given that there are so many “open-ended” diversions over time, some of which are never resolved. If you’re relying on a GPS for fine navigation or route options I’d recommend using the individual section files.
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 )