Weardale Way Section 9 (Bishop Auckland to Page Bank)
Introduction
Section 9 of the Weardale Way begins at the car park on Bridge Road, near the junction with Newton Cap Bank, Bishop Auckland and ends at Page Bank Bridge, over the River Wear, between Spennymoor and Brancepeth. After starting steeply downhill, the first half of the trail is gently undulating, becoming ever flatter as it rejoins the river. Other than a steep flight of wooden steps in the woods at Furness Mill the going – in a quiet, sheltered and rural setting on the outskirts of former mining communities – is easy. If you’re looking for hospitality and transport links there’s nothing at Page Bank Bridge. Willington or Spennymoor (3 km+) are closest or you could continue to Sunderland Bridge/Croxdale (Section 10).
Stats at a Glance
Distance 9.5 km/5.9 miles | Elevation Gain 47 m/155 ft | Maximum Elevation 85 m/280 ft (Bell Bank) | Going Generally firm with potentially wet, muddy and boggy sections on trails, tracks and roads through farmland, parkland, woodland, urban | Exposure Fairly sheltered | Supplies & Hospitality Bishop Auckland (All) [0.5 km]; Willington (GS; PH) [0.5 km] | Start Car Park, Bridge Road/Newton Cap Bank, Bishop Auckland NZ 205300 | Finish Page Bank Bridge NZ 233355 | Grade Moderate | GPS File
Description
From the start on Bridge Road, Bishop Auckland, the route descends steeply to cross the River Wear for the only time on this section, over Newton Cap Bridge (also known as ‘Skirlaw Bridge’ after Walter Skirlaw, Bishop of Durham (1388-1405), who commissioned it). Leaving the main road at Comer Terrace, for an access road, the route passes directly under the towering Newton Cap Viaduct which spans both the river and a grassed area known as The Batts – one of the oldest parts of Bishop Auckland. While the Weardale Way doesn’t actually visit the town centre, it’s possible to see more of the town’s landmarks from it: there’s the asymmetrical Auckland Tower (it’s newest landmark) and Auckland Castle or Palace, possibly its oldest and certainly its most venerable.
After passing Kynren’s 11-Arches event site the trail arrives at the point where it intersects with Dere Street, a strategic supply route built by the Romans, between York and the Antonine Wall in Scotland. Such was its importance that it was defended by forts along its entire length, including Vinovia, at Binchester, directly across the river. Indeed, it’s believed that footings belonging to the stone bridge built by the Romans are still be found in the riverbed close by.
The trail continues on what can, at times, be a soggy floodplain, to Farnley Farm then onto the Brandon-Bishop Auckland Railway Path via the farm’s access road. Ignoring the railway path, the route turns right, through a way-marked gate and over a field before entering a short section of deciduous woodland, descending to the river at its junction with a stream known as Hunwick Gill. A steep flight of steps provides access to the riverbank where there’s a footbridge over the gill (a wooden ladder offers an alternative to the steps but would seem more appropriate when walking in the opposite direction).
Beyond Hunwick Gill is Furness Mill, a former corn mill previously known as ‘Furnace Mill’ and the first of several mill sites encountered on the Weardale Way. A bit further along the wide riverside track is Pay Bridge, a footbridge which either may have charged a toll, or which miners may have crossed to receive their pay. It occupies the site of a railway branch line that crossed the river at this point at the end of the c19th.
White poplars usher walkers through Jubilee Meadows Park to New Jubilee Bridge where the south pier of the original can still be seen slightly downstream. The trail diverts around Lowfield Farm before switching to an access track which takes you all the way to the finish at Page Bank Bridge where there was once a village built to service South Brancepeth Colliery. It was demolished in the 1960s, long after the colliery had closed.
Updates
The following updates have been published by The Durham Cow for this section: 050525