Teesdale Way - Middlesbrough to Yarm (★★★☆☆)

On my first walk of 2016, I'm back on the Teesdale Way - this time walking it in the opposite direction to my last walk, when I had walked this trail between Darlington and Yarm.

For this walk, I retain the same destination of Yarm, but am instead starting in Middlesbrough - and specifically at the transporter bridge (which has ceased operation since 2019).

Transporter bridge in Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough itself does not lie at the end of the Tees - and indeed there are about ten more miles of walking to reach the far end of the Teesdale Way, at South Gare.

But the majority of that is not a very exciting walk - mostly following the route of the train line between sites of heavy industry - and in all honesty the section of coast path between Hartlepool and South Gare is probably ones of the worst stretches of the entire coast path around England.

But our starting point, should ensure that we stay on the good bit of the Teesdale Way - and indeed this is as far as I plan to go along this trail.

And so here we stand in Middlesbrough - which to me is a bit of a funny place. It has a thriving university, but a lot of it's population has moved out to smaller surrounding towns - and it feels like a town that just doesn't seem able to get itself going in this modern era.

There has been plenty of investment in the area, and it can be an interesting town to explore due to it's rich industrial history - but it can also feel quite quiet and empty when the students aren't around.

And indeed, for much of it's history, nothing much happened here (aside from the founding of a Benedictine priory, and a few Viking landings) - and by 1801 the population of Middlesbrough is believed to have only totaled about 25 people.

But a lot of mining activity followed - in particular in the hills of the North Yorkshire Moors - and as a result Middlesbrough grew as a port of importance, with Middlesbrough Docks being built out from 1839 onward.

And on our way out from the transporter bridge, we are walking along the edge of these docks - following the perimeter road, which is actually okay for a walk around the perimeter of docks (perhaps an indication that the docks are not so busy these days?).

And it is not too long before we turn off to the right, and head into Teessaurus Park.

Rawr!

Teessaurus Park is in a way very typical of Middlesbrough - and is a very quirky park that features six multicoloured dinosaur sculptures - with the number of dinosaurs having increased over the years.

And the park is supposedly some sort of (perhaps slightly twisted) tribute to the iron and steel industry that used to thrive on this site.

And from here on, it is a very short walk to the river, where we get to enjoy the industrial sights of Teesside in all their glory.

Not all industry has gone the way of the dinosaurs

Here we track along the river, looking across the water to the industry on the far side (and for those wondering, the onward coast path heads along a dual carriageway, heading past those cooling towers).

Before too long we come to Newport Bridge, where we will cross over the Tees - and this is a fairly unique vertical-lift bridge, that used to be raised in order to allow boats to reach the docks in Stockton (but which is no longer functional as a lifting bridge).

Newport Bridge

And indeed, this was the first vertical-lift bridge in Britain - and was built by a local company Dorman Long, who built bridges as far afield as Africa, China, Australia (e.g. Sydney Harbour Bridge). 

And one of the few highlights of continuing on from Middlesbrough to South Gare along the Teesdale Way is that you do get to pass Dorman Long Tower, which helps mark the spot where these bridges were constructed.

Having made it across the river, we next head under the A19 (which passes far overhead), and then on towards Tees Barrage - passing a slightly shy seal along the way, that evades my efforts to capture it in a photo.

Tees Barrage

Archimedes screws

The Tees Barrage is an interesting site for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, it is a good site for spotting seals (and more recently otters), who have learned that hanging out around the base of the fish pass gives an opportunity for an easy lunch. And indeed the seal we passed today was probably on it's way back from a late breakfast.

And secondly, the site has a few interesting engineering aspects - in particular a set of four Archimedes screws that lift water up into the Tees Barrage International White Water Course. And this site is used recreationally, for filming (e.g. 1917 film), for rescue training and was used a training camp for athletes during the 2012 Olympics.

Otherwise, the role of the Barrage is to turn the section of river upstream, into a non-tidal section of river - and it plays a key role in managing flood levels upstream.

After navigating through this site, we head on down the river on our way towards Stockton - and here we get our first sight of the Millennium Bridge (the next notable landmark along our route).

Coming into Stockton

Millennium Bridge

This is one of the many bridges that were built to commemorate the millennium, and from here it is a short trip until we reach the centre of Stockton - where we have to divert around work being done to improve the riverside.

Here I ignore all the official diversions, and instead create my own by walking as far as possible - and then cutting up along Stockton High Street, to reduce the diversion down to an absolute minimum.

Stockton waterfront

From here, we have the worst section of the day ahead of us - heading down a heavily littered lane, and then cutting along an alley way between a bus depot, and what was a car mechanics, but is now a cafe.

This section isn't that exciting or glamorous, and it is not until we head under the railway and A66, that things start getting good again.

All better now

From here we are following along the river - along a meandering route that heads past Bowesfield Nature Reserve - and then we ignore the official route of the Teesdale Way (which bizarrely heads up to the dual carriageway on the OS Maps app) - and instead just continue to follow the river.

Following the river round (as it snows)

A cold river

Now on the way to Preston Park

Before long we enter the grounds of Preston Park - which is a 100-acre park that was purchased by the council quite a few years ago now - and which also has a museum in it's grounds.

The park itself is particular notable for having world's first passenger railway run through it's grounds (you can walk the route on the far side of the park), and for previously having a small zoo, which featured a penguin enclosure in it's heyday.

But today the main thing on offer is the enjoyable walk along the river - and it is this that we enjoy today.

Through the trees

Looking out from the jetty

It is a great park to walk through, but on the far side we pay the price for this, with a section along the road into Yarm and up through the houses - before we rejoin the river beyond the golf course (which we have just had to navigate around).

And here we can look out over the fields, as we head down to meet up with the river again - with the North Yorkshire Moors just about visible on the horizon at the top of the descent along this path.

Looking out across the fields

Meeting up with the somewhat frozen river

Heading off to Yarm

The snow has made it quite a pretty route today - and we are now sitting in sunshine as we head south, and as we start the final stretch of our walk into Yarm.

Along the way we pass a turn off to the old village of Egglescliffe - and if you stay over in Yarm you might enjoy a trip Egglescliffe to see the old houses, and a visit to the Pot and Glass pub in that village in the evening.

Turn off for Egglescliffe

Egglescliffe is one of the older parts of Yarm - and also one of the most expensive places to live - but it is a village full of oldy-worldy charm, that sits perched above the rest of Yarm below.

But ignoring this turning we head on, and then the river curve rounds until we are heading northwards - and on up to pass Yarm on the far side of the river (and Egglescliffe is now on our right).

Bridge and viaduct into Yarm

And it is here that our journey comes to an end, as we reach the town of Yarm. For those travelling on by train, the nearest station is Allens West (you can cut up via the houses if you don't want to follow the main road), but here I head home.

Total Distance: 15.0 miles (13.5 miles on the Teesdale Way)

Total Ascent: 529 feet (417 feet on the Teesdale Way)

Note the distances exclude the diversion at Stockton (this should end in spring 2026), and include the distances and ascent from Middlesbrough train station, and to Allens West train station (through the houses).

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐ ★ ★ / 5

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 93 OS Landranger map - while there is also a Teesdale Way guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.