YORKSHIRE & NORTH EAST STANHOPE MOOR

DISTANCE: 9 miles GRADE: Easy START: Parkhead Station B&B FINISH: Lydgetts Junction, Consett NEAREST TRAIN STATION: Durham TERRAIN, GRADIENTS AND ACCESS: Gently descending. Fine gravel path. Road crossings. NCN ROUTE: START at Parkhead Station B&B in the heart of the Durham Dales. Soon, Waskerley Reservoir will loom into view on the right while the green fields of the Derwent Valley stretch into the distance. The route was once a working railway line and its old stations have been turned into scenic picnic spots. Waskerley Station picnic area is nearest to the halfway point, surrounded by grassy meadows bejewelled with colourful orchids in summer.

Shortly after, the path hairpins sharply at Burn Hill and the second part of the ride becomes more sheltered and leafy in parts.

The real gem of this ride is Hownsgill Viaduct in the final mile, one of the North East’s most magnificent railway structures. Take the blustery, but beautiful, ride across its top, with breathtaking views over Hown’s Wood, Knitsley Wood, and the sprawling pastures and moorland of the Derwent Valley. End at the rustred smelt wagon at Lydgetts

Junction, the crossroads of four excellent traffic-free walking and cycling trails.

STAY: Parkhead Station B&B, 01388 526434, parkheadstation.co.uk

EAT AND DRINK: Durham Dales tea room, Stanhope

CYCLE HIRE: Wood n Wheels cycle hire centres in Durham, 0191 3783753, and Hamsterley Forest, 0333 8008 222, woodnwheels.org.uk