The Grey Panthers

Explorer Map OL31, - North Pennines Teesdale and Weardale

This walk starts with a short loop walking on both sides of the River Wear, East of Frosterley. The walk then continues by following the Weardale Way to Stanhope, and returning along sections of the Weardale Way.
The walk is best enjoyed on a day of clear weather with high visibility, when there a fantastic views of Weardale to be had.
The walk is reasonably straightforward with respect to navigation, as there are plenty of waymarks and finger posts to help show the way. However, there ARE some sections where waymarks are not present, and it therefore helps to have a 1 : 25000 map in order to follow field patterns.
At one far, the footpath was obstructed and we were forced to make a diversion. This section of the walk is described in the detail below.
There is one hill that needs to be climbed, though this is not especially arduous.

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 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 web site, - just use QUO!!

Start from Frosterley Station car park (NZ02350 36903). Head towards the main A689 road, and at the road junction take the footpath that is signposted on your right. Follow the footpath until you come to an industrial depot. Just past this depot is a road that crosses the River Wear and the railway line.
Turn right over the railway line and walk past some quarry workings, and continue along the wooded footpath. Continue along the footpath in a Westerly direction until you come to the minor road .
Turn left at the road and walk uphill to the school.
Just opposite the school is the footpath that takes you up the hill to Hill End.
At Hill End take the footpath, then track, Westwards (the Weardale Way). This footpath initially follows a broad track but then continues Westwards on a footpath over rough pastureland.
At NY002 364 the footpath descends Northwards towards Ridding House Farm.
Just before the farm, the footpath meets a farm track. Here there is an option for continuing Northwards, through a field gate, to use a footpath over a field. Alternatively, follow the track to Ridding House Farm and take the waymarked footpath Westwards.
Continue Westwards to drop down into some old quarry workings, and cross a small stream. Now head North Eastwards to follow first a field footpath and then a track that takes you to Parson Byers.
From Parson Byers, take the field footpath to the minor road and continue Westwards for a short distance.
Opposite the caravan park entrance take the road that leads to the the A689 through Stanhope.
Follow the A689 Westwards through Stanhope.
When you come to the road to the Open Air Swimming Baths, follow this to the ford over the River Wear.
If you don't want to use the ford, there is a footbridge over the River Wear a few hundred yards to the East.
Follow the footpath Eastwards now. This takes you back to the caravan park and Parson Byers.
At Parson Byers. take the field footpath to Peak Field Farm. The footpath is waymarked, but it helps to use the 1 : 25000 map to follow field patterns.
At Peak Field Farm the footpath is shown as leading to a farm track to the East of the farm.
There is a waymark on a gate by this track. However, on attempting to cross rough pastureland to reach this gate we were shouted at by two residents of the farm who made it clear that this route was off-limits (as far as they were concerned).
We cut our losses here, and diverted by taking the field footpath to Dryburn Side Farm and onwards to Hill Top. From here we took the field footpath back to Frosterley.
The intended route we were wanting to take was to take the farm track at Peak Field Farm to the minor road that connects Parson Byers and Frosterley, and to return to Frosterley along this road.