Bill's Walks

Castle Eden, Hesleden and Hurworth Burn Reservoir

Filed under: Other

Distance: 12 miles

Start: Masonic Hall car park off B1281, Castle Eden (GR NZ 423376)

Click to view start position on Google Maps

Map: OS Explorer Map 306 – Middlesbrough and Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees and Redcar

It is not an easy job to put together a 12 mile walk starting at Castle Eden and visiting these two areas, which are on opposite sides of the busy and dangerous to cross A19. The routes suggested here manage this but in order to eliminate road walking use is made of the two railway walks in the area. We start the walk at the car park opposite Castle Eden Inn which is situated on the old A19. The car park is shared with the local Masonic Lodge. Castle Eden is a spread out place and on this walk we see very little of it especially when compared to the Castle Eden Dene Walk. It was well known for its brewery, known as Nimmos, which in latter days was acquired by Whitbreads. The village was originally known as South Yoden which is a corruption of Yew dene for which Castle Eden Dene is famous. There was coal mining here in the 1800s as well as a ropeworks and a bleachery, the site of which is passed on this walk.

We head south from the inn on the main road for a distance of about 200 yards to a lane on the left which leads towards the bleachery. At the end of the second field the track is crossed by a footpath and we follow the path to the right down the side of a field. After a short distance we drop down into the upper part of Hesleden Dene and the burn is crossed by a good bridge. Hesleden Dene is the most southerly of the three well known Durham ravine denes, the others being Hawthorn and the nationally famous Castle Eden Dene with its medieval woodland. It is a steep climb for a short distance up the other side to reach the southern edge of the dene. Here we take a footpath heading north-east alongside the field edge above the dene. The building you see down in the dene after about 300 yards is the bleachery. After about half a mile the path drops slightly and then turns back uphill slightly on a 90 degree turn. In about 100 yards there is a stile on the left and this is taken descending down into Hesleden Dene and the burn is again crossed by a good bridge.

This area is a Nature Reserve owned by the Durham Wildlife Trust. Hesleden is a corruption of Hazel Dene but the dene is also notable for yew trees as well as the rarer Spindle tree and lots of harts tongue ferns which thrive in damp secluded places. They are found regularly in crevices on limestone pavements. There is good birdlife here with many species, including great spotted woodpeckers, tawny owl and buzzards. The path now follows the burn downstream before climbing steeply out of the dene by a good set of stairs. At the top you arrive on the Hart to Haswell Railway Path.

This railway was stated as early as 1835 by the Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company. The purpose was to get into the Durham coalfield and thereby get coal sent to Hartlepool to be shipped out. It reached Castle Eden in 1839 and eventually reached Haswell in the 1860s. At the same time George Stephenson was building a line from Sunderland (now the Stephenson Trail from Hetton on the Hill to Sunderland) which also reached Haswell but the two stations were at right angles in Haswell and at different levels. The Hartlepool line plans to reach Moorsley were abandoned after the Sunderland company opened a branch line from Murton to Durham and eventually all the lines were linked up with a new station in Haswell in 1877. As a matter of interest Haswell was the first pit in the world to have a steel cable down its mine shaft and this was very significant in the history of mining. Services on the Hart line continued until June 1952 and the line was used for main line services when maintenance was needed on the London to Newcastle line as the photograph of the Flying Scotsman on the interpretation boards show.

It is a straightforward walk up the line passing through Castle Eden Station and then under the A19. At Heads Hope where the line starts to curve northwards is a farm on your left and just short of the farm is a waymarked stile leading into a paddock. A further stile goes into a field which is crossed slightly uphill to reach another stile leading down into Heads Hope Dene, which has been made by the same burn as Hesleden. This is crossed by a bridge and the dene exited by a stile. Here we have two alternative routes; the first goes directly south over two fields to join a track leading to Hutton Henry which is an old village whose name is Scandinavian for Hutton meaning high farm and Henry being the Lord of the Manor Hendry de Eshe in the 14th Century. It boasts a pub called The Plough and the village has a pleasant feel about it. The alternative route goes west along the edge of the dene before heading south-west over a footbridge to the south-west corner where a track is joined which heads west and then south round a lake to a farm and near to a row of cottages called Heath Row. This area was the location for Hutton Henry Pit. The old shaft is marked up in a nearby field as a plinth and some of the old pit buildings have been incorporated into the farm. A byway then leads south to Rodridge Farm and here the road is crossed to pick up a waymarked footpath down the side of a field with the hedge on your right. At the end of the field it passes over into a narrrow strip of open access land as this is the West Common of Hutton Henry. You leave the common almost immediately and follow a field edge with the hedge on your left, cross a stile and head diagonally to the south-west corner. We actually followed the field edge to the right to arrive on the B1280 at spot height 139. As this is a common l believe it is possible to get from Hutton Henry to join up with the other path.

There are two routes south from Hutton Henry both starting at the telephone box. One passes Leechmire and is a farm access road but note the fine line of trees. The other turns right just after leaving the village street along Leechmire Terrace to Green Lane. At GR 421352 there is a junction of tracks and the one on the right is taken and, after crossing a footbridge over a burn, the hedge is followed to the B1280. Also the footpath on the right over the field to South Wingate may be preferred as it keeps you off the B1280. There is little to choose between the routes unless you are walking at the weekend and wish to visit The Plough pub but personally l prefer the first route ending at spot height 139. Effectively all the routes are together here.

Again there are two routes from the B1280 to Hurworth Burn Reservoir. The easy one goes from the white cottage a short distance west towards Station Town and heads down a broad track between the fields to Black Hurworth Farm. The other goes from South Wingate past Catlow Hall which has B&B facilities. The section of the footpath over the stile to the farm is not passable easily and it is best to follow the access road to the end of the second field about 100 yards short of the hall and turn right to a small lake and then left to arrive just to the west of the hall. Cross the stile in front of you and head south through a small garden area to a further stile. Now head down the field edge to cross the Mousey Burn by a footbridge and once over the bridge head west over the hill to Black Hurworth Farm. Before the farm gates take the stile on the right alongside the farm fence which leads to the farmyard. This can be a bit muddy. Here go west for a short distance through a paddock and over a stile on to the Castle Eden Walkway and Hurworth Burn Reservoir. Personally, I prefer the latter route via Catlow which is prettier and both Catlow Hall and Black Hurworth Farm have some antiquity about them.

After the death of Thomas Hurworth in 1468, Hurworth on the Moor was divided into three parts with the heirs drawing lots from a bag containing coloured items of black, red and white. Hence the name of the farms even today.

Hurworth Burn was dammed in the 1870s to provide water for Hartlepool and it always surprises me that such a limited inflow can sustain such a body of water. It is a superb place for birdlife with a wide variety of ducks and geese as well as other waterbirds. The Teesmouth Bird Club run a top class website giving great details of the sightings and what is about. In order to get the best views walk south down the line past the old Hurworth Burn station platform where there is normally a lot of finches and tits feeding on the nuts provided. Continue down to the road reached down the embankment about 100 yards south of the bridge over the road and take care on this road for about 200 yards to reach the far side of the reservoir. The stream issuing from the reservoir is the River Skerne which passes close to Aycliffe and through Darlington reaching the Tees at Hurworth Place on the Teesdale Way. In the past it was considered a good fishing river hence the name Fishburn through which it passes. The path around is easy to follow and after crossing the bridge over part of the reservoir you eventually come back to the railway line near to Black Hurworth Farm.

The railway you are walking is the trackbed of the NER branch from Bowesfield Junction at Stockton to Wellfield at Wingate where it joined the Hart Line and this was built as late as 1880. It was known as the Cuckoo Line and was officially the Stockton to Castle Eden line although it did not serve that village. Its aim was to bypass Hartlepool and Stockton and link the Hartlepool to Sunderland and the Darlington to Middlesbrough lines. Its main structure was the 22 arch Thorpe Thewles viaduct which used 8 million bricks in its construction. The principal products carried were weardale limestone, durham coal and agricultural products and due to the low populations on its route passenger traffic was minimal. Although it initially had some important through trains to Manchester and Bournemouth to ease congestion on other routes it was downgraded in 1905 when the coastal route between Hartlepool and Sunderland was opened and it closed to passengers in 1931 and finally closed in 1966.

It is easy walking heading back slightly uphill to Station Towm which has little to commend it. Fortunately the route slides by the side and is waymarked as a National Cycle Route. At Station Town the main line was further to the east and the route is now alongside a council estate for a short distance (on what was a link with a railway to the Trimdons) before entering some restored land with a young wood. It then goes downhill on a good surface, which you would expect on a National Cycle Trail, and turns uphill heading north-east after crossing a small stream which eventually becomes the burn down Hesleden. At the bend where the track turns north you are back on the main railway track. The house on the knoll to the north is Beech House. There are several lakes hereabouts which were formed from exhausted clay pits used for tiles as the nearby farm indicates. At a point where the pylons come near to the track, take the path on the right which goes down the side of a field with several ancient beech trees to join the Hart Railway just west of Hopes Head farm where you left the track earlier. It is a repeat walk back under the A19 and when you arrive at the road bridge carrying the old A19 (now the B1281) take the steps on the right back to the car park.

Postscript
If an extra few 5 miles are desired from Hutton Henry, take the Leechmere route and then the B1280 to Red Barns, then follow the footpath to Ropers Wood and the Coal Lane past Pudding Poke Farm to Pawton Hill Farm. Here turn right through Scotland Wood and then Cole Hill Farm and East Murton Farm to pick up the Cuckoo Line at 408314. This is in Hartlepool where the standards of footpath maintenance are generally poor and there are some indifferent stiles but there are good views of the Cleveland hills and the countryside is pleasant. Cross over the track, climb some stairs and head south-west to GR 405311 (or walk down the track to pick up the bridleway from Embleton) and then head north parallel to the railway past Murton Blue House to arrive at Hurworth Reservoir and back on to the original route. Alternatively you can omit the Hesleden section of the walk to give a walk about 13 miles and incorporate the Hesleden section with a combined walk down to the coast at Crimdon. See also the Castle Eden Dene Walk which appears elsewhere on this site.

Some of the information on this walk has been taken from “Lost Railways of Durham and Teeside” by Robin Jones published by Countryside Books in the Lost Railway series. Its sister book on Northumberland is equally good and both are highly recommended. Also used was a leaflet produced by the District of Easington, now incorporated into Durham County Council.