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Wearhead Walks

 

Wellhope Bird Walk PDF (2.41Mb)

Cowshill Bird Walk PDF (2.57Mb)

Cowshill to Killhope PDF (491 kb)

Wearhead PDF (758 kb)

Ireshopeburn Haymeadows PDF (1.2Mb)

St John's Chapel PDF (2.7Mb)

Weardale Way 1: Cowshill to Westgate PDF (513 kb)

 

The County Durham Definitive Public Rights of Way

This website is not a PDF but it will provide maps of the definitive rights of way for all of County Durham's footpaths - just select Wearhead from the list of towns/villages.

The publication of the public rights or way is a guide for visitors but not a guarantee that the footpath will be open. Please report any issues.

 

Cycling around Wearhead

WARNING! The A689 is a busy main road

Take a leisurely ride along the back lanes overlooking the valley around Burnhope Reservoir, Cowshill and St John's Chapel.

Try your hand at some really tough climbs like New House Bank on the road from Ireshopeburn to Rookhope.

Visit Hamsterley Forest and try their off road cycling tracks.

Click here to seek out the quieter C roads in and around Weardale.

Burnhope Reservoir

Wearhead village stands at the point where Burnhope Burn and Killhope Burn join to form the River Wear. It was once a lead mining village and the terminus for the Wear Valley Railway, with many shops and services but now the nearest shop is at St. John's  Chapel two miles away and the nearest pubs are at Cowshill (1 mile) and St John's Chapel (2 miles). Between 1930 - 1937 a reservoir was built for the Sunderland and South Shields Waterboard. This area affords lovely, peaceful walks especially in May and June when the wading birds are nesting in the area.

Visits to Killhope North of England Lead Mining Museum (4 miles) and the Weardale Museum, Ireshopeburn (1 mile) are recommended.

Click below to enlarge images in the gallery

Places to Stay


High Watch, Lanehead

Places to Eat

Chatterbox Cafe, St John's Chapel
The Golden Lion, St John's Chapel
The Blue Bell, St John's Chapel (drinks only)

Places to Visit

The Weardale Railway

The Durham Dales Centre

Durham Dales Craft Centre, Stanhope

The Weardale Museum, Ireshopeburn

Killhope Lead Mining Museum

High Force in Teesdale

The Bowlees Visitor Centre

Low Barns Nature Reserve

Auckland Castle

Spanish Gallery

Mining Art Gallery

Auckland Tower

Kynren

Harehope Quarry

Tanfield Railway

Locomotion

Nenthead Mine (pre-book Open Days)

Hamsterley Forest

Hall Hill Farm

The Open Air Swimming Pool, Stanhope