Weardale Way Section 8 (Witton-le-Wear to Bishop Auckland)

Introduction

Section 8 of the Weardale Way starts from the Dun Cow Inn on High Street, Witton-le-Wear and finishes at a small car park tucked away in the woods off Bridge Road, close to the junction with Newton Cap Bank, in Bishop Auckland. After passing through the grounds of Witton Castle Park, the first section of the trail within the Durham coalfield visits Witton Park and Escomb, villages, defined by industry and religion respectively. The finish, on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland, is signaled from a long way off by the attention-grabbing profile of Newton Cap Viaduct which spans the River Wear as it begins its meanders through the Central Wear Valley.

Stats at a Glance

Distance 8.4 km/5.2 miles | Elevation Gain 79 m/258 ft | Maximum Elevation 124 m/407 ft (Witton-le-Wear) | Going Generally firm with potentially muddy sections on trails, roads and tracks through farmland, woodland, parkland, urban | Exposure Fairly sheltered | Navigation (OS Maps Explorer 305; Landranger 92; Landranger 93); GPS File | Hospitality & Supplies Witton-le-Wear (PH); Escomb (PH); Bishop Auckland (All) [0.5 km] | Start Dun Cow Inn, Witton-le-Wear NZ 145312 (w3w: nightfall.trouser.revives) | Finish Car Park, Bridge Rd/Newton Cap Bank, Bishop Auckland NZ 205300 (w3w: solved.title.oven) | Grade Moderate | GALLERY

Trail Updates

The following updates have been published by The Durham Cow for this section: 05/05/25; 17/06/21

Description

From the Dun Cow Inn the trail leads steeply downhill to immediately cross a high embankment courtesy of the Weardale Railway. Before the A68 was constructed, Witton Bridge carried the main road, to and from the village, over the river – it can still be busy today so stay alert. Immediately after crossing the bridge the route enters the woods of Witton Castle Park at North Lodge. Shortly after crossing the Linburn Beck, woodland gives way to open parkland although the castle itself is almost hidden behind the uphill slope (as part of our 2025 review I decided to include an option to visit the castle itself where there are several hospitality outlets).

On leaving the park, the route gets a bit more rugged, heading alongside Witton Row Beck towards the river where there’s a particularly rough section around a thick, concrete wall. This is followed by a short climb through riparian woodland to reach open farmland on the stretch to Witton Park from where you get a glimpse, above the trees, of the upper part of Witton Park Viaduct, carrying the Weardale Railway over the river. Witton Park’s a fascinating village that was once condemned for demolition despite being the starting point for the Stockton & Darlington Railway, the world’s first public railway.

At the road, the route turns right, towards the village, passing the sites of a former pit and associated brickworks of which there remains little evidence today. The area on the left – known as ‘Paradise’ – was, in it’s mid-c19th industrial hey-day, a massive complex of blast furnaces as the steel-making industry moved downriver from its inception in the dale. Slightly off the trail, I recommend continuing across the main village green to visit a poignant sculpture by North East artist Ray Lonsdale. Titled ‘The Ball and the Bradford Boy’ it was installed in 2017 on the centenary of the Victoria Cross being awarded to the first of two brothers – both recipients of the award – who were born in the village.

After passing under the Weardale Railway via a small bridge, the trail undulates across several fields shaped by glacial activity thousands of years ago, to the village of Escomb which you enter past the c17th Saxon Inn. However, Escomb’s known best for its important Saxon Church on the circular green in the middle of the village (there’s usually a notice on the gate post saying where the key can be obtained and believe me, it’s worth taking the time to have a look).

Out of the village, approaching Bishop Auckland, Newton Cap Viaduct (initially a railway viaduct that now takes traffic) stands proudly spanning the River Wear further downstream. Before you get there however, you need to scale the fast-eroding wooded slopes of Broken Bank. There were several pits in the area and the ‘orange water’ that runs into the river at the foot of Broken Bank is effluent from those workings. Broken Bank itself is aptly named for the loose ‘shaley’ soil associated with ‘coal measures’ geology. It’s sensitive to erosion – particularly in wet weather – and, along with the trail, is sliding slowly into the river.

Several minor trails lead up through the scrubby woodland to a sloping, grassy bank which falls away towards Bishop Auckland Rugby Club’s ground. Here, the trail joins Bridge Road, an access road which leads to the finish of the section in the car park at the junction with Newton Cap Bank.