Bill's Walks

A Look at the Castle Eden Line

Filed under: Other

Distance: 12 miles (or 16 miles if including the Embleton extension)

Map: OS Explorer 305 and 306

Start: Sedgefield Village Centre

Click to View Start Position on Google Maps

This walk was originally going to be called “What is the Cuckoo Line?” but was changed so as not to take the risk of  losing friends who live in its location!

Sedgefield is a pleasant small town with some interesting buildings. The most notable is the church of St Edmunds with its fine tower which stands out surrounded by the green. Inside there is some intricate woodwork in the nave going back to the time of Bishop Cosin and this bears comparison with the woodwork from the same period at both Durham Cathedral and the Bishop Auckland Palace.

Also notable is the Manor House dating back to 1707. Look for the new Market cross which was erected in 2012 to celebrate the 700th Anniversary of the town being granted a market. Note also the plaque on the wall of the Dun Cow which recalls the time when Tony Blair entertained George Bush on its premises.

To begin the walk, head out of Sedgefield to the south east on the road to reach the A689 which is crossed with care to reach the side road which is used for group starts. Head south passing Manor Farm and the quaintly named Glower O’er Him farm to reach the A177 which is crossed to reach the Byway leading towards Thorpe Thewles. This is a Byway Open to All traffic (BOAT) which means that the byway can be used by vehicles compared to a Restricted Byway which  does not allow motorised vehicles. This is followed south for about three and a half miles to emerge on a minor road on Shotton Moor. Take care not to follow the access road to Neasless Farm  which turns off to the right shortly after the start.

On reaching the minor road just north of Whitton Moor farm continue ahead for a short distance to reach a minor road which is followed to the right towards Stillington. Just after the entrance to Whitton Three Gates a bridleway leaves the road on the left to arrive at Thorpe Thewles in just over a mile. This bridle way must be followed more carefully than normal as for a bridleway just outside a village as the way marking leaves room for improvement. Take care after crossing Maudlin Gutter to reach Hell Hole where there is a building. Pass this and look for a stile on your right which is crossed to follow a small stream through paddocks. Here the way marking is poor and you emerge into Thorpe Thewles passing a bungalow and joining the road at the end of School Close. Waymarking is entirely absent here!

Thorpe Thewles is an attractive village which was vastly improved when the A177 bypass was built. In these times of rural pub closures the village retains its two pubs, the Hamilton Russell and the Vane Arms. Our route now goes up the left hand side of the church into a paddock and on exiting you pass under the A177 by an underpass where a purpose made footpath is picked up. This goes through a pleasant field (passing an interesting sculpture which can be used to see the North Star) to reach the embankment of the Castle Eden Line. Here turn left and in a short distance you arrive at the old Thorpe Thewles railway station. The station was made into a visitor centre in 1983 two years after the walkway was opened.

Prior to reaching the station you will have passed the Planetarium which has many events on throughout the year. There are also fine tea rooms at the centre as well as the other usual facilities. The Castle Eden Line was known locally as the Cuckoo Line and was opened in stages by the North Eastern Railway. The first stage from Bowesfield Junction near Stockton to Carlton South (or Redmarshall as it was later called) opened on May 1st 1877 for freight traffic, and a further section to Wellfield near Wingate opened on August 1st 1878 also to freight traffic. The freight was principally Weardale Limestone, coal from West Durham and with some agricultural business. Passenger traffic started in 1880. This was always sparse as there was virtually no habitation alongside the line. In 1914 the bottom part of the route was electrified to bring coal from Witton Park colliery near Shildon utilising the Clarence Line to Redmarshall and then onto Middlesbrough for export and photos of this can be seen at Shildon National Railway Museum. This was one of the earliest electrified lines but it did not last and the route reverted to steam in 1935.

The Castle Eden Line was never a real success and ceased passenger traffic in 1931 and closed in 1951. The track was used until 1966 as a bypass route when there was maintenance work on the main Stockton, Hartlepool, Sunderland route and finally closed during the Beeching cuts between 1966 and 1968. A great feature of the route was the magnificent viaduct just to the south of Thorpe Thewles which had 22 arches and needed eight million bricks. Unfortunately this was demolished in 1979 to make way for the bypass.

It is easy walking along the walkway which we leave at GR 403275 at the side of West Carr Plantation which is half a mile south of the A689 and Wynyard Station, where the line can also be accessed. A four mile addition can be made to the walk at the West Carr junction by continuing to the A689 and at the north side taking the bridleway to the medieval village of Swainston where the bumps can be seen in the ground. This was partly excavated in 1957 and some pottery found. Half a mile to the north is another medieval village called Embleton, formerly called Elmdene. The villages were abandoned in the 14th Century, due to changes in the demesne system. At Embleton is a derelict church and some good photos of this can be seen on www.derelictplaces.co.uk

Go west from here back to the Castle Eden Line and then south back to GR 403275. From GR 403275 you are now on a bridleway through Brierley Wood, passing close to Cowley House farm. Watch for the path turning off to the right next to a small stream which is followed round to emerge on to a track from East Close Farm. The right of way goes through Square Plantation on its northern side but is underused and most people tend to use the metalled track on the south side of Square Plantation. This area was foxhunting country and at GR 385285 leave the bridleway to take the footpath to Cote Nook Farm. This is a clear track but beware as the footpath to Cote Nook Farm leaves this clear route when level with the farm and heads a shade north of west through fields and under the pylons to Cote Nook Farm and the A689. If by any chance the footpath across the fields is missed it can be picked up by using a gate just after passing the power lines on your right and the stiles on the correct route pick out the route. On reaching the A689 walkers for Sedgefield cross the road and return to Sedgefield by Beacon Lane whilst the route back to the garage follows the A689 on a footpath.