Area: Durham [County]

The Category Bishop Auckland is a subset of Durham [County].

The Category Chester-le-Street is a subset of Durham [County].

The Category Darlington is a subset of Durham [County].

The Category Durham [City] is a subset of Durham [County].

'Aycliffe Fell walking Club is based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham (near Darlington in the North East of England) and is open to everyone interested in fell walking or rambling. It caters for walkers of all abilities and ages. It became Aycliffe Fellwalking Club in 2011.'

Member of the Ramblers - North Yorks & South Durham Area Grouping

Member of the U3A - County Durham Grouping

Member of the U3A - County Durham Grouping

Member of the Ramblers - North Yorks & South Durham Area Grouping

'Our 16 parks and 10 nature reserves stretch right across the town ... South Park is a great place for today’s generation after its multi-million pound Heritage Lottery Funded restoration project. It was the first Victorian Park in the North East of England and was opened to the public in 1853 as  Belasses Park ... WestPark Nature Reserve is the first new park to be created in Darlington in 100 years. This exciting project covers 30 acres and includes tree plantations, wildflower meadows and wetlands ... '

'The club was first established in 1936 and the first walk was on Sunday 8th November 1936.  Then there were 50 members and it was arranged that there would be walks alternating half day Saturday and a full day Sunday ...'

Member of the Ramblers - North Yorks & South Durham Area Grouping

'Local Nature Reserves are vital to the health and wellbeing of Darlington's wildlife and the many hundreds of people who visit them during the year. The Council's Countryside Team currently manage all the wildlife areas in the Darlington Borough. These areas offer visitors an insight into nature wildlife with nature trails, educational visits, viewing platforms, information boards, jettys and artwork.'

Tees Valley Local Access Forum

Parks and Green Spaces [Darlington Borough Council]

Member of the Ramblers - North Yorks & South Durham Area Grouping

Member of the U3A - County Durham Grouping

Member of the U3A - County Durham Grouping

'County Durham has some of the most beautiful countryside and coastal landscapes in Britain. It is home to a huge variety of plants and animals, and the area has a fascinating historical and geological heritage.'

Member of the U3A - County Durham Grouping

'Our 10 hectare university Botanic Garden is set amongst beautiful mature woodlands on the southern outskirts of Durham city. Open to the public, the Botanic Garden offers a wide variety of landscapes to explore and discover, with guests young and old visiting throughout the year.' Note Click 'About Us' at the top of the screen for further details of the Garden.

Durham University

'In 1997 Esh Parish Council launched its leaflet "Esh Parish Walk", with funding from the Parish Paths Partnership ... The walk takes approximately 3 hours to complete and apart from a steep climb near the start, is not strenuous.'  ALERT Ar Review, the description of the Walk seemed no longer to be accessible from the Council Website; but still was from the Wikipedia Page now instead linked to in this Record.

'2000 hectares of mixed woodland lying between the Wear and Tees valleys on the edge of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Hamsterley is a delightful oasis of broadleaved and coniferous woodland, sprawling along the sides of a sheltered valley.'

Forestry England

'Mixed terrain with three marked walking trails. Trail one is accessible for those with limited mobility around the top of the Fell.'

Durham Wildlife Trust

'Upper Teesdale is a picturesque Durham Dale where you may well feel time has stood still. Teesdale is blessed with magnificent scenery, peaceful and dramatic landscape of moors, hills, valleys and meandering rivers. The dale has outstanding waterfalls including the awesome sight of High Force, the highest unbroken fall of water in England, where the River Tees drops 70 feet.'  Upper Teesdale Businesses 'are committed to providing a high quality service to walkers'.

'The North Pennines is the northernmost section of the Pennine range of hills which runs north–south through northern England. It lies between Carlisle to the west and Darlington to the east. It is bounded to the north by the Tyne Valley and to the south by the Stainmore Gap ... The North Pennines was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1988 for its moorland scenery, the product of centuries of farming and lead-mining. At almost 2,000 square kilometres (770 sq mi) it is the second largest of the 49 AONBs in the United Kingdom.'

'Raby Castle is surrounded by 200 acres of lush green parkland, where herds of Red and Fallow Deer live wild. Follow one of the walks through the park and around the ponds where you'll see plenty of wildlife. You will also enjoy exploring 5 acres of traditional 18th century ornamental Walled Gardens including fabulous Yew Hedges, trees, plants and ornaments from the 18th and 19th century.'

'One of the best ways to explore everything that Durham has to offer is on foot. Whether it's a leisurely city stroll along the banks of the River Wear, or a more strenuous walk in Durham's great outdoors – our routes were made for walking ... '

'Darlington's West Cemetery on Carmel Road, is the final resting place of many of the town's most significant residents, with monuments dating from the height of Victorian funerary grandeur through to the present day. This guide helps visitors to the cemetery to locate the more notable graves and provides a brief background to their occupants using information on Darlington's history from various sources.'

About Darlington

'Founded in 1993 under the Parish Path Partnership to look after and promote the 140 miles of designated footpaths in the Wolsingham Parish.'

'Walk around the 2000 year old history of this market town, visiting sites of Roman occupation, Christian heritage and Victorian industry. Take in the character and history of the buildings and sites as you enjoy your tour.'

Chester-le-Street Heritage Group

'Much of the route follows the line of the former Stanhope & Tyne Railway, Britain's first commercial railway, which was finally closed in 1985. The route into Sunderland takes you past the new Stadium of Light, along the riverside, through the marina and onto the beach at Roker.'

Sustrans

'Its membership is made up of people whose knowledge and experience relates to land access. There is a great range of expertise within the LAF, with both user and landowner interests being represented fairly.'

Durham County Council

'The P3 provides grants to locally-based community groups and parish councils to improve and promote the rights of way network in their area. The overall aim of this grant is to make the local rights of way network open and available.'

Durham County Council

'The trail will introduce many of the rocks which make the Teesdale landscape so special and which make the dale a haven for rare and interesting plants.'

Explore North Pennines

'Darlington’s rights of way network covers a wide variety of landscapes: hills and valleys, rural and urban, short paths and circular walks. Some paths may be surfaced and many are tracks across countryside owned by farmers and landowners ... We are responsible for 216 miles (346 kilometres) of rights of way. In the borough of Darlington, all but one of our rights of way are public footpaths and public bridleways. There is one byway open to all traffic (BOAT). Within the borough there are a number of permissive paths, including through Skerningham Woods, and one at Newton Ketton, which offers panoramic views over to the North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales. The Teesdale Way, a long distance footpath, passes through the southern part of the borough of Darlington. Many of our rights of way are ancient. Some of Darlington’s rights of way date back almost a thousand years. Over such a long time, some of these ancient paths and tracks have been widened, surfaced and become lanes and roads.'

'Extremely popular linear route between Consett and Swalwell, with fabulous views across the Derwent valley.'

Durham County Council

'Come and experience Durham's railway legacy. The railway paths - former railway lines - are attractive countryside routes that can be used by walkers, wheelchair users, horse-riders and cyclists.'

Durham County Council

'Iron, Steam, Coal and Countryside ... A Network of Walks off the Weardale Way'

Durham County Council

'This County Durham walk follows the most dramatic section of the River Tees, which begins life on the isolated flanks of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and enters the North Sea surrounded by industry.'

Walking Britain

'Part of an extensive network of Railway Paths which are fantastic for walkers, cyclists and horse-riders. At Lydgetts Junction, this route joins the Waskerley Way and Derwent Valley Railway Paths and the Consett-Sunderland cycle route. At Broompark, it joins the Brandon-Bishops Auckland and Deerness Valley Railway Paths.'

Durham County Council

Railway Paths in County Durham

'My descriptions of the walks are not of the sort to tell you exactly the route in specific detail as l believe that all walkers should carry the relevant OS Explorer map and a compass or GPS, preferably both should your batteries run out! Our OS maps are the best that l see in whatever country l visit and we should use them.'

Bill's Walks

PDFs of 14 Leaflets available for download; also links to details of some two dozen other locations good for birdwatching walks.

North Pennines AONB

'Discover why one of Durham's rivers completely changed its course.'

Discovering Britain