4.8 miles.
Explorer Map No 305, - Bishop Auckland
This visit is combined with a walk beside the River Wear to Bishop Auckland, and back.
The only proviso is that on the day that this particular walk was made, there had recently been some very heavy rain and sections of the footpath were extremely muddy.
At one point the footpath had been washed into the River Wear and a detour was required to get back onto the path.
For a Memory Map overlay of the walk described, please select the
above link.
(Overlay made with Version 5 of Memory
Map)
Some new mapping software is now availabe which you may want to try, - QUO mapping. You can download the software for free from the link below, complete with demonstration maps. Having installed QUO, you can import and export Memory Map overlays. Thus YOU DON'T NEED Memory Map to use any of the overlays provided on the Grey Panthers website, - just use QUO!!
Start from Escomb village. There is limited parking
outside the Church. (NZ18935 30115).
From the Church, head in a Northerly direction to where a footpath
sign directs you onto the Weardale Way footpath.
Follow the footpath beside the river all the way to Bishop Auckland.
Just past the Rugby ground, you need to leave the footpath beside
the river, and walk along the roadway until it joins the Bishop Auckland
- Toronto road. This road desceneds to the old Newton Cap road bridge.
Cross the road and head for a gap in the wall to the West of the new
viaduct. This gap in the wall leads you down to the footpath beside
the River Wear, and under the viaduct.
Continue beside the river until you come to and area known as the
Batts (where there are picnic tables).
From here, head up the street into Bishop Auckland where you turn
right and head Westwards until you come to the old Newton Cap public
house (at the time of writing now a children's nursery school).
Head down Bridge Street towards the Newton Cap bridge.
At the bottom of Bridge Street, retrace your steos back to Escomb,