Teesdale Way

OVERVIEW

The Teesdale Way is not one of the more frequently traveled walks in Britain, but it offers up one of the rare routes that head east-west across the north of England - with the main other east-west routes at this end of the country being Hadrian's Wall, the Coast to Coast and the canal routes (through the bigger cities).

At it's furthest end this route and the Pennine Way become one - on the most dramatic stretch of this trail, between Dufton and Middleton-in-Teesdale. This section takes on a dramatic stretch of the river, and includes High Force waterfall, which is one of the most dramatic waterfalls in the country.

From Middelton, there is an on-going transition from rural (and wild) countryside, until you increasingly reach more and more populated areas - with this urban feel peaking as you reach Middlesborough.

The final stretch between Middlesborough and South Gare is a very industrial section that heads past industry and steel works - and I would recommend not bothering with this section. 

For those that still wish to be able to claim to have finished the trail, there is the option of diverting onto the Tees Link route, which will then take you to Highcliff Nab near Guisborough. From here you can head to Saltburn along the Cleveland Way, and from there it is a nice walk down the coast to South Gare.

PRACTICALITIES

One of the challenges of completing this walk is the difficulty in reaching one end of the trail from the other.

Whilst Dufton is near to Appleby-in-Westmorland train station (on the Carlisle-Settle line) and South Gare a walk along the beach to Redcar train station, the journey time between the two ends is about 4-5 hours (averaging about 15 miles per hour as the crow files by my calculations).

This public transport issue rears it's head most if you wish to use public transport to get between Appleby and Middleton - since the quickest route I could find means heading up to Carlisle, along to Newcastle, down to Darlington - and then across by bus to Middleton. Or a journey of just under five hours to span about twenty miles (or 4mph).

In the good old days, trains used to run between Darlington and Kirkby Stephen, simplifying walks between the Dales and Teesside, with branches off to Bishop Auckland or Middleon-in-Teesdale. These days you can only get between the Dales and Teesside via Leeds or Carlisle

What offsets this is that accommodation is fairly straight-forward and you can do the trail in one go with stops at Middleton-in-Teesdale, Barnard Castle (I skipped this stop but only by doing a long day's walking between Middleton and Darlington), Piercebridge, Darlington, Croft-on-Tees, Middleton-one-Row, Yarm and Middlesborough (if doing the full section down to South Gare). To compensate further, it is also a lovely trail to walk - particularly as a join betwen the Pennine Way and Cleveland Way national trails.

If stopping at Yarm, I would recommend Yarm Guest House as a stop over - unless your budget is more than mine you won't be able to stay in Rockcliffe Hotel, but the stops in Middleton, Barnard Castle, Croft-on-Tees and Middleton-one-Row (Davenport Hotel) look particularly nice.

My plan for the upper end of the trail is to head out by bus from Darlington at the start of the day and then return from Appleby by train (I'll take a book).

USEFUL LINKS

Guidebook : The Teesdale Way : From Dufton to the North Sea
LDWA Page : Teesdale Way - LDWA Long Distance Paths

STAGES

Dufton to Middleton-in-Teesdale (★★★★★)

On this section the Teesdale Way and Pennine Way are the same path. 

From Middleton-in-Teesdale this section head along the River Tees and then passes by waterfalls at Low Force and High Force in quick succession. From here the path bends round Cronkley Fell, generally following the path of the river. 

After passing Langdon Beck, the path heads past Cronkley Scar and Falcon Clints, before reaching a cascade at Cauldron Snout. From here the River Tees is left behind and the path generally follows Maize Beck, before reaching High Cup Gill, a massive U-shaped valley. The path follows the western edge of this valley, before dropping down into Dufton.

This section totaled 23.7 miles between Middleton and the train station at Appleby (just beyond Dufton), with 19.8 miles of that being on the Teesdale Way. The ascent was in excess of two thousand feet.

Middleton-in-Teesdale to Barnard Castle

Planned to be walked in the future...

Barnard Castle to Darlington

Planned to be walked in the future...

Darlington to Yarm (★★★★☆)

I started this section from Darlington train station and headed through South Park on my way to join up with the Teesdale Way. From here I turned right at the A66 (OS Maps says to turn left, but on older maps there are two routes, and the right turn is in my opinion superior).

After crossing Blackwell Bridge you turn left at the roundabout and head into Stapleton. From here the path heads up to Stapleton Grange and on past Monk End Farm into Croft-on-Tees.

After crossing the bridge, you head up the hill and then drop down alongside the railway line, head past Rockcliffe Hall and into Hurworth-on-Tees. From here you follow the road to Neasham where you rejoin the river.

Soon though you are back on the road, but this is a quiet back road to Sockburn Hall (location of a dragon slaying), but then cut east and then north into Low Dinsdale (past the original manorial seat of the Surtees family). 

Next you head through Dinsdale Wood to Middleton-one-Row (there is a train station near here at Dinsdale) - and then across the fields to Low Middleton and then Newsham Grange. Finally you head along the river to reach Yarm.

This section totaled 21.8 miles (of which 18.4 miles were along the Teesdale Way), with a bit under a thousand feet of ascent.

Yarm to Middlesbrough (★★★☆☆)

From Yarm, the Teesdale Way heads out across the fields, following the river as it heads south and then curves up to head north. When we reach the golf course, we have to cut in past the houses, and follow a road to navigate round, but rejoin the river at Preston Park on the far side.

After heading through this park, we continue to follow the river on the far side as it winds it's way up to Stockton - and here the route into town isn't great, before we head along the river front up to Tees Barrage where you have a good chance of seeing some seals.

From here we continue on up to Newport Bridge, where we cross over the Tees - and then follow it round past the industry on the far side of the river, until we reach Teessaurus Park with it's dinosaur sculptures. Here we cut down onto the perimeter road around the docks to reach the transporter bridge, just up from Middlesbrough train station.

This section included 15.0 miles of walking (of which 13.5 miles were on the Teesdale Way) and about half a thousand feet of ascent (mostly around Preston Park).

Middlesborough to South Gare

I have no plans to walk this section - this section heads through the heavy industry that sits beyond Middlesbrough. An alternate route to the coast can be found by following the Tees Link, and then Cleveland Way (which looks a nicer walk), but this one doesn't seem worth doing.