Gainford to Barnard Castle – 30 March 2024
An Easter Saturday walk to Barnard Castle with the clocks going forward an hour on Easter Sunday and the weekend weather looking quite good. If that is not enough to make you think about coming out the walks are following a section of the Teesdale Way beside the River Tees for much of the way.
The last time we walked these routes in April 2022 the Teesdale Way was blocked at Whorlton Bridge. The old wooden planked bridge had become unsafe for vehicle traffic so it was completely sealed off. The Teesdale Way used to cross the bridge and continued on the south side of the river before crossing to the north side at Abbey Bridge which is the next bridge further west. Until the bridge gets repaired all the routes are now staying on the north side.
Three routes are heading to Barnard Castle and all of them start from the area of Gainford village. The 11-mile route gets off the coach just to the east of Gainford and walks north of the river until it reaches Abbey Bridge where it follows the footpath to the ruins of Egglestone Abbey then along the south side of the river before crossing the bridge and doing the uphill walk through the town. The 10-mile route starts in Gainford village and stays north of the river to Barnard Castle. The 9-mile route starts just to the west of Gainford village and also stays on the north side of the river to Barnard Castle.
So if you fancy a spring walk along the River Tees with the flowers out and the trees possibly starting to get their leaves you might like to join us for a walk. You can get in touch with us using the Contact Page of our website and you can also download the walk descriptions below and the GPX routes here.
The image for this post was taken the last time we visited Barnard Castle in April 2022.
