The Grey Panthers

10.4 miles

Explorer Map No 304, - Darlington and Richmond

A very pleasant ramble, starting from the village of Whorlton. After crossing the river by the suspension bridge, the route first follows the banks of the River Tees to the delightful community of Wycliffe before continuing over fields to Hutton Magna. This is a gem of a village which was once in the North Riding of Yorkshire, but is now in County Durham.
A ramble through fields takes one on a loop back to Hutton Magna, where the route continues using field footpaths and then minor roads back to the suspension bridge at Whorlton.
The final leg takes one along the banks of the River Tees before returning to the village of Whorlton.
This walk is easy to follow, and the only gradients of any note are in getting to and from the River Tees at Whorlton.
The walk should be suitable for any time of the year, but it was noted that in one or two sections the becks beside the footpath had been in flood at some previous time.

For a Memory Map overlay of the walk described, please select the above link.
(Overlay made with Version 4 of Memory Map)

Some new mapping software is now available 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 the centre of Whorlton village (NZ10586 14762). Care for village residents in parking.
From the church, take the footpath that takes you down to the River Tees. Turn right when you reach the footpath by the river and continue to the suspension bridge.
Cross the River Tees by this bridge, then immediately turn left to follow the footpath beside the river to the community of Wycliffe.
Continue onwards on the waymarked footpath, through woodland, until you come to a minor road.
Here turn right, and after a few yards take the signposted footpath South. When you reach a farm road, cross this and continue until you come to the Main Stell drainage ditch. Here turn left and follow the waymarks to the village of Hutton Magna.
In the village, turn left and head uphill along the road to the Vicarage. Opposite the Vicarage is a signposted footpath past West Middleton Farm towards Little Hutton Farm. Past this farm, there is a plantation, and at the end of the plantation turn sharp right to follow a farm track down to the Hutton Beck.
Here turn right to follow the field footpath back to Hutton Magna.
When you reach the village, turn left and follow the road Southwards. At a sharp left hand bend there is a footpath that heads almost due South West across a crop field.
Follow this footpath until you meet a farm track that now takes you North West through a plantation. Follow the waymark signs to arrive back at the crossing of the Main Stell drainage ditch.
Continue Northwards until you come to the farm road, and then turn left. (Green Lane).
Continue Westwards to eventually meet the minor road that heads Northwards back to Whorlton.
Just after a sharp right hand bend near Thorpe Hall there is a field footpath that takes you back to the suspension bridge.
Cross the suspension bridge, then follow the footpath Eastwards along the River Tees until the footpath comes to an acute bend and heads uphill beside a small valley. Continue along the footpath and then track in a North Westwards direction to return to the village of Whorlton.