Bill's Walks

Daddry Shield to Cowshill

Filed under: Other

Approx. Distance: 12 miles

Start: Market Place, St Johns Chapel (GR NY886379)

Click to view start position on Google Maps

Map: North Pennines Teesdale & Weardale ~ Explorer OL 31

The basis for this  attractive walk is to find another exploration of Upper Weardale without using the Weardale Way. That  is not to say that the Weardale Way is not a fine walk, indeed the section from Westgate to Wearhead and  the continuation of the old route to Cowshill is probably my favourite section. Weather permitting the route to be followed makes use of the excellent leaflets produced by Durham County Council under the Mineral Valleys Project. Arguably the best one is the one on St John’s Chapel which is where we start today’s walk. For those interested in further walks in this super area there  are detailed walks in  a book written by Dorothy Gibson entitled Upper Weardale Way produced  by Walks of Discovery (ISBN 0-86309-194-6) which covers from Wolsingham to Killhope, which is where l believe the Weardale Way should terminate. This is well documented in Nick Channer’s book “Untrodden Ways” where Chapter 6 details the history of the Wear Valley Way,  devised by Alan Earnshaw, and opened in 1979. Incidentally the other walks described at some length in this book are all good and as the title implies not overcrowded; such as the Two Moors Way covering Dartmoor and Exmoor (now changed into another Coast to Coast in Devon) and the Calderdale Way which can easily be covered in daily sections using the  bus service in the Calder Valley.

For those wanting greater background and informative commentary on Weardale I suggest that you obtain both Iain Brown’s “The North Pennines, Landscape and Legend” and “England’s Last Wilderness” by David Bellamy and Brendan Quayle. Both are well illustrated and enhance your knowledge of the area.

Starting at the Market Place (what a good spot for a period film location!) we head towards the river on the minor road and at the bridge follow the Weardale Way downriver on the south bank to Daddry Shield which is a hamlet of terraced miners cottages. At the west end we take the bridleway in a South-West direction up the hill passing to the right of High Pinfold House. Pinfolds were for the safe keeping of stray sheep and in a modern form are still used today when sheep are brought down from the fells for dipping etc. Over the last few years many have been restored on a project over, I believe, the north of England. One such example can be seen on the green in Melmerby (midway between Alston and Penrith). The track we are now walking was one used to bring the sheep to in-bye. This land was active in the past for both lead mining and quarrying of limestone. Note also the shake holes where water dissolving the limestone has produced what appear to be craters.

After approx one mile we take a footpath West running parallel to the valley and passing over the top of the Harthope Burn (which is one of the few places where  the native high forest has survived) to arrive at spot height 364. The path now swings  downhill North West in a curve to High Notts before heading South West back up the hill towards Ireshopeburn Plains, arriving at a minor road through a plantation.

Turning right we walk for a short distance to where the road descends to the valley at a junction with a track to Ireshopeburn Plains farm. This track is followed towards the farm where we turn right (just short of the farm) to Greenwell and then down to The Hole which is a pleasant corner. This area was worked for iron ore until the 1930s and the the stone structure passed on the  left on the way up to the farm was the  support for an aerial ropeway which transported the iron ore to the valley bottom and the railway which existed at that time. Crossing the burn we ascend a broad lane to Ling Riggs where John Wesley stayed during his quite frequent and successful visits to the area. On the road down to Ireshopeburn he enrolled one of his best ministers. We now proceed South West up the road known as the Causeway, passing the bridleway before taking the footpath right towards Wham Farm. For those wanting an airy and lengthy walk, the Causeway can be followed over to Teesdale at a height of 2000ft at Coldberry End and arriving at the top of Harwood Dale. Today is easier though, continuing ahead past Middle Rigg and over the Burnhope Burn by the footbridge to arrive at the reservoir access road just after  Blackcleugh. It is all downhill now to Cowshill passing the isolated cemetery and crossing Burtreeford bridge into Cowshill itself.

Just after the church we head north into a valley desecrated by the lead mining industry but in its own way a fascinating place to visit. This was the site of several mines, not least the Burtree Pastures Mine which was very large. Originally owned by the Blackett-Beaumonts in the heyday of lead mining, the site saw further activity in the 1970s when it reopened as a fluospar mine which was never a great success. Slightly further up the valley was the Sedling Mine worked between 1818 and 1878 by the Beaumont-Blacketts. After about half a mile we take the obvious track to the right, heading steeply up the side of the valley and after a long pull eventually arrive at the top near some disused shafts above West Blackdene Pasture. This track is on the site of the Sedling lead vein and the track is known as Sedling Rake. Heading East we walk along the good track (with fine views towards Burnhope Reservoir and the earlier part of the walk) for about one and a half miles to a plantation. This road was used to transport the lead ore to the smelter owned by the Beamont-Blacketts at Rookhope. We meet up with a road from Newhouse near to Middlehope Old Workings. We now turn down this for a short distance and just past the plantation take the bridleway to the left which descends to the road at Carr Brow Pastures. This is a nice easy section after previous exertions with fine views down into the Wear Valley. A short distance to the left along this road takes us to Fairhills where we can then reach Pondenlane Bridge which is crossed over into St John’s Chapel.

In the event of bad weather the alternative route utilising the Weardale Way can be taken to Cowshill.