The Weardale Way

It winds its way for roughly 74 miles, passing through the contrasting landscapes and villages of rural Weardale, through historic Durham City, and eventually meandering through the more urban lowlands as the river meets the sea. Walkers can enjoy a wealth of historic and natural points of interest passing through moorland, pasture, arable, woodland, plantation, riverside, and towns and villages.

The Weardale Way (Cowshill to Sunderland Bridge)

The Weardale Way between Cowshill and Sunderland Bridge in County Durham (near Croxdale) is around 45 miles (72km) long. It has recently been freshly waymarked including wooden fingerposts where the route meets a road. Works have also been carried out to improve and renew many stiles and gates along the way. Funding for these improvements came from the Heritage Lottery Fund, via the Natural England: mineral valley project, which was managed by Natural England.

Below is a series of ten downloadable PDF maps of the route.

• This first map illustrates the locations of the ten sections of the route :  Weardale Way - Map Key (PDF) [1MB]
• Cowshill to Westgate - 4.5 miles : 7600m :  Weardale Way - Map 1 (PDF) [513KB]
• Westgate to Eastgate via Rookhope - 8 miles : 12800m:  Weardale Way - Map 2 (PDF) [537KB]
• Eastgate to Stanhope - 2.5 miles : 4200m :  Weardale Way - Map 3 (PDF) [508KB]
• Stanhope to White Kirkley - 4.5 miles : 7400m :   Weardale Way - Map 4 (PDF) [512KB]
• White Kirkley to Wolsingham - 5.5 miles : 9200m :   Weardale Way - Map 5 (PDF) [481KB]
• Wolsingham to Harperley - 3 miles : 4500m :   Weardale Way - Map 6 (PDF) [483KB]
• Harperley to Witton-le-Wear - 3 miles : 4600m :   Weardale Way - Map 7 (PDF) [494KB]
• Witton-le-Wear to Bishop Auckland - 5 miles : 8200m :   Weardale Way - Map 8 (PDF) [529KB]
• Bishop Auckland to Willington - 4 miles : 6500m :  Weardale Way - Map 9 (PDF) [528KB]
• Willington to Sunderland Bridge - 4.5 miles : 7300m :  Weardale Way - Map 10 (PDF) [499KB]

Why not take a bus ride up to your starting point? Weardale Travel operate the 101 bus service through Weardale. For more information on this bus service and other travel options take a look at the Plan your journey with Traveline North East page. 

More information

• The Durham Cow - Durham history and heritage

Cowshill to Killhope, an extension to the Weardale Way   

This route is approximately four miles long. The attached leaflet is one in a series of leaflets promoting walks leading from the Weardale Way, produced as part of the Mineral Valleys Project.  The leaflet can be viewed in PDF format:  Cowshill to Killhope, an extension to the Weardale Way (PDF) [493KB]