Some comments on Teesdale Way

The Teesdale Way is a pleasant riverside path. Officially starting at Dufton, it follows the Pennine Way as far as Middleton-in-Teesdale. These comments are confined to the trail after it leaves the Pennine Way.

From Middleton-in-Teesdale the route follows the tree lined river, deviating over fields in places. Mostly along paths, muddy in places, there are occasional short road sections. Although there are no long climbs there are brief ascents and descents up and down the river bluffs or nearby hills. Stairs have been built to assist in places. Walking was easy compared with my earlier hike on the Pennine Way. Periodic villages offer some facilities, and the towns of Barnard Castle, Darlington and the area around Middlesborough have everything you might require. Paths are often available both sides of the river, waymarked with the Teesdale Way dipper symbol, offering the potential for scenic, circular day walks. Spread throughout the Teesdale Way adding interest are sculptures, some small and others much larger.

The last part of the Teesdale Way that I followed was through the urban and industrial landscape of Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough. Many people dislike industry (although enjoying its fruits) however I find the big works of engineering impressive. These included the various bridges of unusual design and the large Billingham chemical works. 

Accommodation is available every night. Although waymarking is generally good, a map or GPS is needed as not all junctions are marked. Due to the river's meanders this is not a direct route, and many miles are spent following the river's elegant curves.

Teesdale Way blog starting from Middleton-in-Teesdale,

Middlesbrough to Guisborough: E2 Day 65

Another long day but an interesting one with industrial sights, cafes and ridge top views.

Returning to the Teesdale Way through the terraced streets of Middlesbrough I stopped at a cafe for a breakfast coffee. No menu was visible so I just had a latte. Other men came in and greeted the man serving with the Arabic  "Salam". They had something served with flatbread. Although it looked attractive I was still full from the pizza and cookie dough dessert I had yesterday so I did not investigate. 

There were two large roundabouts to negotiate today, with long waits for the "green man" at each of the several lanes of traffic I had to cross. I had imagined the north east to be less prosperous than it once was in Britain's industrial heyday, but the volume of traffic suggested plenty of activity. On the opposite side of the river from the Teesdale Way I could see the large Billingham chemical works, still in operation although no longer as part of ICI, a great British company that has ceased to exist. I was curious about the purpose of some of the huge structures, but could find nothing to educate me from a brief internet search. One of the great monuments to engineering on this section of river was the Tees Transporter bridge. Similar to one in Newport, Wales, vehicles are carried over the river on a gondola suspended by cables from a trolley than ran along a structure of girders bridging the river high above the water. Unfortunately it was closed for due to structural issues, hopefully it will one day return to operation. Other riverside sights included a seal sculpture and a much larger work of art consisting of two huge metal rings joined by a network of wires. Less abstract were the representations of large dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles in Teessaurus Park. The Port of Middlesbrough looked busy enough. I was curious about a vessel with a helideck, it was so high up at the bow that I wondered how stable it would be even in moderate seas.

Tees Transporter Bridge, not showing the gondola that hangs below the main span as the bridge was sadly closed when I walked by.

Stegosarous in undergrowth of Middlesbrough.

Leaving the Teesdale Way several miles before it ended at Redcar, I turned onto the Tees Link. This links to the Cleveland Way National Trail which I reached at the end of the afternoon. At first the Tees Link ran by car showrooms (and the Tees café where I enjoyed an egg and sausage roll) but soon it followed a green corridor of land between housing. Progressively I eased from an urban landscape to a rural one with birds twittering in nearby hawthorn bushes. Initially the route was strewn with litter, dog poo and bags of dog poo hung on branches but in time I reached a wooded hillside by my third café of the day (Coke and Magnum ice cream). There were plenty of dogs about, not always attentive to their owners repeated commands. I would have liked to have petted them but thought this would only encourage their errant behaviour. 

As I climbed large areas of Middlesbrough and surrounding towns came into view. I was transfixed by the emerging vistas reaching a summit with a splendid panorama, spread out in front of me under regions of sunlight and shade made by clouds drifting across the sky. Unfortunately the summit was not on my route. Returning to the path added an extra kilometre or so to my day.

View down to Redcar.

Dropping down to the valley beyond I joined a trail running along a railway line shut down by the infamous Beeching cuts of the 1960's. My fourth café (coffee and scone) was in a nature reserve visitor centre by an old station. Nearby there were several large animals carved out of wood. A few kilometres beyond that I had a dilemma. My digital resources showed two different routes for the Tees Link. I vacillated between the two and a third option of taking the shortest route to my accommodation for the night. Rather arbitrarily I picked one of the Link routes that took me steeply up to a ridge. A sign later showed me it was the wrong choice. I consoled myself that it was not any shorter than the correct route, although probably less muddy. Both options took me to an outcrop of rock, high on the hillside, where I joined the Cleveland Way and entered the North York Moors National Park. For the next hour or two I followed the ridgeline with splendid views down to Guisborough, Redcar with its industry and the sea with its wind turbines. As I did not want to climb up the ridge again in the morning I followed it to where it lost height, well to the east of the Inn where I had booked to stay. This meant I ended the day with a trudge back to Guisborough making my day another rather long and tiring one.

Middleton-One-Row to Middlesbrough: E2 Day 64

A long day following the many meanders of the Tees.

For much of the day the Teesdale Way ran close by the river, although the water was often obscured by trees which lined its banks. The river looked dark, deep and dangerous, with hidden undercurrents. Steep, tree lined slopes had been created on the outside arc of meanders where the flowing water had cut into the surrounding, undulating countryside. As the river eroded the landscape over thousands of years it moved sideways leaving a slightly sloping floodplain on the inside of the curves cut by the flow. Apart from the wooded slopes on the outside of the river's bends, all morning I was among farmland but change was approaching in the character of the riverside. The dividing point was perhaps Preston Park where I had lunch. There were a few sights of note in the morning. A round red brick building of obvious age but uncertain purpose. An old aircraft with no wings in a field which I only spotted because a dog walker pointed it out to me. There were also three sculptures which were part of the sculpture trail.

One of the public sculptures looking down on a river meander.

Path beside the Tees

In the afternoon the loops of the river became more extravagant, with areas of lakes, marsh and nature reserves within them. The wooded river bluffs faded and were replaced by urban sprawl. As the path followed the river around the meanders progress was prolonged. Often I was walking away rather than towards my destination for the night. My surroundings became increasingly urban. Initially the houses carefully stayed away from the low marshy ground around the river, but at Stockton-on-Tees the town came down to the riverside. Here the river's banks had been tamed with steel piles. A pleasant promenade had been paved beside the water. Pedestrians could cross to the opposite bank on a new, graceful, cable-stayed bridge. 

Beyond the town were a number of sights, the first was the Infinity Bridge, two arched bridge sections which when reflected in the water look like the infinity symbol. Today no reflections were visible. Next was the Tees Barrage. A large structure designed to keep the water level constant in the river upstream of it and to control flooding. Downstream the river is tidal. Integrated into the barrage is a white water centre where canoeists can slalom through artificial rapids. Sadly the centre was not in use when I passed and because some of the walkways were blocked I had a difficulty getting through it. Finally for today, there was the Newport bridge. A vertical lift bridge in which the road section was lifted to let taller ships through. Dating from 1934 it no longer lifts as larger vessels have stopped plying this part of the river. However in its lowered position it still used by road traffic and pedestrians such as myself crossing the Tees.

Tees Newport Bridge.

After crossing the bridge I made my way to my room for the night, through Middlesbrough's streets of terraced, brick housing with a variety of shops (Polish, Romanian) and cafes and takeaways (Arabic, Chinese) suggesting a cosmopolitan neighbourhood. My bed for the night is near the bold, modern buildings of Teeside University. From the grandeur of the buildings it looked like there was money in education, although I worried about their motto, "Ambition today". What could they deliver? Graduates today all too often do not get a job commensurate with their university costs. Nearby the Muslims, Salvation Army and Christadelphians had buildings, offering a different type of future.

Typical Middlesbrough street.

Although my 20 miles today is on the long side, I was more tired, with aching feet than I felt I should have been, especially as the elevation gain was not great. Maybe the lingering effect of my cold. As I get older infections seem more common and last longer than in my younger days. At least it was not only my left knee affected. My accommodation was not great, which was maybe why I drank two pints of beer at a nearby, convivial student pub in the evening rather than my usual one.

Darlington to Middleton-one-Row: E2 Day 63

Low point today was walking through liquid mud, high points were lunch and Devonport hotel.

As forecast the day was overcast, grey with showers of rain as I alternated between urban landscape and dull green fields of grass and leafy crops. Yet cherry trees in pretty pink blossom painted splashes of joy, and bright yellow drifts of daffodils on the roadside raised my mood. A forsythia bush which escaped pruning in the winter produced an explosion of yellow in a village garden, and an avenue of blackthorn, in white blossom funnelled me along a muddy path.

Cherry blossom on Stapleton green.

Daffodils beside the trail.

While many sections of path were in good condition and much of today's route was on quiet roads, in a few places, where hedge and fence forced people onto a narrow path, recent rains had created a quagmire of liquid mud. My new boots, bought specially for this trip, soon lost their pristine appearance beneath a coat of brown slurry.

Initially, after my return to the Broken Scar picnic area, the path followed the river closely. Now that the speed of the maturing river had slowed, it was dropping its pebbles to form islands. At one point the eroded riverbank, showed a layer of pebbles left by an earlier channel below layers of silt deposited as the river moved elsewhere across the floodplain. Later the Teesdale Way moved away from the river following quiet roads and tracks over low hills, before rejoining it at the end of the day on a steep wooded slope, where the river was wide and free of rocks.

After leaving the sprawl of Darlington I visited a number of red brick villages: Stapleton, Croft-on-Tees, Hurworth-on-Tees and Neasham. In Hurworth I lunched the Mustard Tree Café, located in the Methodist Church. As I ate a chickpea and avocado wrap, the half dozen people on the next table were all working on the same crossword, ending by exchanging answers, between greetings to other villagers passing their table. I felt I had trespassed on their little community.

My walk ended at the Devonport Hotel at a village with the curious name of Middleton-one-Row. Low grade pain from my knee during the day made me glad to have arrived at this settlement above the river bluff. I have a large room decorated well in a restrained manner with a powerful shower for which I did not have the usual wait for hot water. I can look out from my room onto the daffodils gracing the roadside. A simple stone sculpture, part of the Tees Sculpture Trail, is just out of view.

Return to Darlington: E2 Day 62

A return to Darlington to resume my walk on the E2.

After months toiling on the renovation of our house, with all the stresses, decisions and problems such work involves, I was looking forward to something completely different. Not that the project was finished, I felt guilty leaving my wife to deal alone with the workmen building our new garage. This was not my only worry restarting my travels. Two weeks earlier an opportunity arose to visit the North of England, and I thought I would fill in some spare time this trip offered by completing some training walks. The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge is a 40 kilometre circuit over three summits, Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, a hike I had long thought of completing. I successfully managed to complete it in under the requisite 12 hours despite the blustery wind threatening to push me over, and hard hitting rain. Scafell Pike, the highest mountain in England, was my next challenge. Again I succeeded despite snow and a near total lack of visibility. Thankfully I had my GPS for navigation and where they had not been obliterated by the wind, some footsteps to follow in the snow. My achievements in pitting myself against nature was undermined by a deterioration in my left knee. Fluid accumulated in the various bursas around the joint, limiting its movement. I had stupidly pushed too hard, too quickly. As I struggled across the snowy, slippery, surfaces on a boulder field near the summit of Scafell, the angle of the rocks and holes between them hidden by snow, I knew my knee would suffer from my stumbling into unseen cavities. The fluid filled cavities around my knee where not the only bursas to concern me. Probably as a result of work on our house I had developed a big bursa on my elbow. But these things were not my main health problem.

Somewhere I caught a cold, not a normal, common cold, but a hacking, cannot catch your breath, cannot stop coughing cold, complete with a painful throat. On the weekend, a week before my planned departure to Darlington, I had arranged a stall at the National Outdoor Expo in Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre. Here I extolled the benefits of the Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) and tried to sell copies of my book "Six Pairs of Boots: Spain to Cyprus on the E4 Trail" and the LDWA Recipe book. On Saturday I had reasonable success but by Sunday the combination of my cold and talking all the previous day meant I completely lost my voice. I was fortunate to be working with two other admirable members of the LDWA as I was reduced to a whispering, although I worried that I might pass my illness onto them, 

Recovery from my cold stalled and I worried my condition with deteriorate into a serious respiratory illness.  As a minimum I feared I would need to postpone my trip. However, as predicted by my wise wife, who is so often right, on Friday my health improved so that by Monday I felt well enough to begin the next section of my walk on the E2 as planned.

From Darlington where I ended my last trip the E2 continues down the Teesdale Way, before joining a succession of long distance paths to reach Harwich and the ferry for the Hook of Holland in the Netherlands. The most important of these trails were the Cleveland Way, Yorkshire Wolds Way, Viking Way, Hereward Way and Stour Valley Path.

The trip began with a railway journey back to Darlington. I had hoped to buy a coffee and sandwich for lunch on the train, however this involved scanning a QR code and signing onto the WiFi. As the latter involved providing a large amount of information unrelated to my choice of sandwich (my home address, full name and possibly the name of my first pet dog if I had got that far) I gave up in disgust. There was some mumbling on the loud speaker that may have referred to other catering options but to me it was intelligible. Instead, while munching on my emergency rations, I looked out at the flatlands north of Peterborough, which I hoped to be walking across in the few weeks time, as nearby hedgerows and fields flashed by.

I made up for my lack of lunch in the red brick town of Darlington with a rather large piece of cake, after which I bought some apples, guilty at such an unhealthy choice of food. Then I wondered around the centre of Darlington in the afternoon sun before retiring to my hotel with a takeaway to watch whatever was on TV.

Barnard Castle to Darlington: E2 Day 61

A walk down the River Tees, edged with trees, in the sun, the last day of my current trip.

I had 33 kilometres or so to walk today and a train to catch at the end, so I started early with breakfast in bed with food I had bought last night. As I walked through the Sunday morning, empty streets of Barnard Castle, dawn was a glow in the east. At a park on the outskirts a lady was out with her dog, ghostly with its eerie green lit collar. It reminded me that although still two weeks away some of the shops already had Halloween displays, wrapped with yellow and black tape saying "Enter if you Dare". Later, in Darlington I saw mothers and children carrying pumpkins down the street.

As I walked over the riverside meadows, the sun still below the horizon, rabbits ran from me, squirrels scurried up trees, and a flock of birds in flight, turned and wheeled, gathered and separated, black against a sky of translucent orange and blue. Based on their distinctive calls, my BirdNet App named them as Jackdaws.

Although a riverside walk, owing to the trees on the banks, the water itself was either hidden, or visible only in gaps between the trees, the sun reflecting brightly off it surface. Near Barnard Castle the river ran fast, cascading over ledges of rock and boulders in the river. Towards the end of the day it had grown larger, and although moving swiftly, with turbulent eddies, there was less foam and no splashing over rocks, a more mature river. Although the river had travelled no great distance from its source, it had grown rapidly, filled by streams and brooks joining it.

River nearer Barnard Castle. 

A sign at Egglestone Abbey Bridge stated that the next bridge at Whorlton was closed. As my planned route, based on my guidebook, crossed this bridge, a rethink was required. Fortunately, from Middleton there seemed to be paths on both sides of the river, so I stayed on the north side to avoid the closure. When I reached Whorlton Bridge, it looked permanently closed with metal fencing keeping you off it. A great sadness as it was a 19th century chain suspension bridge of no little interest. I would gladly have paid the 1d toll advertised in order to cross it. The next bridge also had a story. As part of a television series a Spitfire plane had flown under the masonry arch. While it was a wide arch it must have taken courage. I idly wondered if they had cut the encroaching tree branches back to ensure no accidents (they did). A small bronze, metal cast of a Spitfire was attached to the bridge to commemorate the event for those who knew the story.

The closed Whorlton Bridge. 

I deviated to Gainford Spa, an important sounding name for a small fountain beside the river where I tasted the sulphurous waters as they spewed out of something that looked like a large stone vase. It tasted unpleasant. A lady with a small dog said it was better if you let it settle, or used it to make tea. Apparently it was a great success with the Victorians.

At Gainford village I was hoping for a café, but the establishment my guidebook was presumably referring to was a rarely open fish and chip shop. However a local resident assured me there was an excellent café at the farm shop in the next village of Piercebridge. And so it transpired. I enjoyed a latte, leek and cheese tartlet (in which I could really taste the cheese) and a slice of fruit cake (with refreshingly few ingredients just flour, butter, juicy currants, sugar and carrots(!), no funny additives), all excellent.

Being Sunday there were plenty of people about, old men with flat caps and dogs, ladies with white hair blown about by the wind, couples, older and younger, eager spaniels and laidback, black labradors, and a few older children joining their parents for a Sunday stroll.

After a day in the sunshine, walking by the trees edging the river, or around nearby fields, now increasingly sown with grain crops, I reached the outskirts of Darlington. Needing to catch a train I left the Teesdale Way at the first opportunity and walked into the centre of town. Busy for a Sunday, with kids standing around or kicking a ball, there were bars and coffee shops open. Having a few minutes to spare I had a coffee before catching a train from the large, old red brick and vaulted glass roofed station. 

Path beside the tree lined river.

Middleton-in-Teesdale to Barnard Castle: E2 Day 60

A change in scenery today as I left the Pennine Way and followed the Teesdale Way beside the River Tees through trees and farmland to Barnard Castle.

Not being in a hurry I had breakfast in a café this morning so as to see a bit more of the village than was possible last night. After agreeing that Middleton-in-Teesdale was a jolly nice place, the chatty owner mentioned that five of her staff had been down with flu. I wondered if flu had been the cause of my runny nose, tiredness and aches this trip.

When I finally left the hotel it had begun raining heavily. Fortunately it did not last and the sun appeared creating beautiful views of the River Tees with the surrounding trees starting to show their autumnal yellows. Gusts of wind pulled at the trees, creating brief storms of flying yellow leaves. Today's walk on the Teesdale Way was a complete contrast to the harsh, high fells of the Pennines, with its lack of trees or shelter from the wind. Instead I was walking through farmland rather than moors, often beside the river and among trees of beech and oak, acorns and beechmast crunched under my feet, dark green holly had bright red berries. In the fields the grass was a lush green, well tended and even, rather than the tussocky reeds and heather the sheep contended with in the windswept mountains. The Tees and its tributaries had cut down into an older, landscape of modest hills, giving steep, high, tree lined river bluffs. At times my path rose and fell on these slopes, rudimentary steps had been installed on the steeper parts, and footbridges crossed incoming brooks. At other times the route left the river and climbed over fields. Others were also enjoying a Saturday walk beside the Tees, we passed with muttered "hellos".

River Tees seen through the trees.

The countryside today was a contrast to the high Pennines (in the far distance) and other mountains I had been crossing. 

The path went through several wooded sections. 

On the way today were two villages, Eggleston and Romaldkirk. Pretty places, built of the local sandstone with a green, a church and a pub, but no shop or café that I was aware off. Fortunately, I spotted a sign for café not mentioned in my guidebook (a woeful oversight). It was at Eggleston Hall Gardens, just after the village. There I enjoyed a latte and slice of strawberry cheesecake marooned in a lake of cream. I looked in at the gardens as well, a large part of which was devoted to selling plants. After Eggleston Hall the path split into two, one each side of the river. Both were waymarked the Teesdale Way, with the insignia of a dipper, a cheerful looking bird. I chose the branch running on the south side of the river as this was the route described in my guidebook. 

Periodically on the Teesdale Way there were cast iron sculptures looking like chimney pots which marked the parish boundaries. An example of the public art that makes some of Britain's footpaths a bit more interesting. 

Another example of public art, a sculpture on the path side.

Coming into Barnard Castle I diverted to see the castle ruins that gives the town its name. Dating from the 12th century they stand on a cliff above the river. I looked down from the walls at an ancient bridge crossing the Tees which illustrated what a commanding position the castle occupied. 

Barnard Castle ruins.

Feeling I was spending too many nights with a beer or glass of wine in my hand, tonight I opted for a traditional meal of fish and chips with mushy peas and bread and butter, washed down with a pot of tea. A super supper. Returning to the rooms I am staying in above a pub, beneath me I can hear the hubbub of the male, Saturday night crowd and an amateur (I hope) singer having trouble reaching the high notes. 

Today's trip was a modest 19 kilometres, tomorrow will be more trying as I hope to reach Darlington railway station, some 33 kilometres away, before the last train leaves for home.