Bill's Walks

A Walk Past the Cow’s Tail

Filed under: Other

Distance: 12 miles

Start: Deerness Valley Railway Walk car park, Stanley/Crook

Click to view start position on Google Maps

Map : OS Explorer 305 – Bishop Auckland and OS Explorer 307 – Consett and Derwent Reservoir

This walk could just as well be called “A Walk Up the Deerness Valley” or “A Circuit of Tow Law” but was given its name in an effort to help to preserve a little bit of local history. It starts at the car park on the Deerness Valley Railway Walk car park, just to the east of Stanley/Crook. This place must not be confused with the much bigger place of Stanley near to Beamish Museum 15 miles to the north.

Stanley/Crook was a small mining village which had two collieries and a well known old established football team called Stanley Utd. Until the opening of the pits in the 1850s this area was all moorland and remnants of this will be seen on the walk. The village was named after Stanley Hall just to the north. Like many other smaller communities (such as nearby Oakenshaw) the village was designated a Category D village and scheduled for demolition. Fortunately, like Oakenshaw and some others it happily survived and is a pleasant spot to live with wide ranging views. Before starting the walk take time to look at the magnificent memorial seat at the end of the car park dedicated to a local young man who ost his life at a tragically early age.

We start by heading north on the trackbed through young woodland with a lot of birdlife normally about and after passing two fields on the right come to a crossing of the track. To the north-west at this crossing can be seen the old school. Our route is to the east leaving the Deerness Railway and at a slight bend on the track take the stile in front of you alongside a very small stream with a narrow strip of bushes separating you from fields to the south and a motor course to the north. This is soon passed and you then enter into a open plantation where oak has been planted. Continue in the same direction alongside the stream until after 200 yards you come to a forest track at a t-junction. Take this track over the bridge in a north-west direction and after about 400 yards the track ends in a turning circle. The footpath continues to the right in a north-east direction and in a short while you will see the stile at the junction of the fields on your left. This footpath is then taken to the north, alongside a wall, and reaches a tarmac road at High Wooley Farm.

This is an old farmhouse as the steep sloping roof and pantiles testify. We now head west on the road to rejoin the Deerness Valley Railway path which is now followed down to the Deernesss Valley at Ivesley Cottages with its nearby pub. This section was to access coal from the two collieries at Stanley; namely the Stanley Drift and the Wooley.

The Deerness railway was opened in 1858 to transport coal and coke from the valley. In 1877 it started taking passengers and this continued up to1951. Photos of the station can be seen on the Disused Stations website. Finally in 1964 the line closed to all traffic. This area, although rural now had a considerable amount of industry and still retains an active community spirit. The course of the railway, although not made into a railway walk, is open for use to the west and we head west passing Hedleyhill Terrace on the other side of the road. At the end of this terrace it is necessary to leave the course of the old railway which has partly disappeared and take to the quiet road which has a good path alongside it.

At the end of a small terrace of houses (there is also one on the other side) called Rose Terrace, after about half a mile, take the track down the side of the last house to pick up the newly created path through Staley Wood alongside the river. This is an interesting path and passes the site of some beehive coke ovens. The coal hereabouts made good coke. This whole area up to East Hedleyhope has seen some really good restoration and conservation work funded from a variety of sources such as the Mineral Valleys Project as well as the National Lottery. The hay meadow on your right is part of this reserve and aims to have a flower meadow with grass cutting being stopped until all the flowers have seeded. The RSPB have added funds as part of their efforts in reversing the decline of woodland birds and there was further assistance from the Forestry Commission.

East Hedleyhope had a pit from the 1860s until 1959 and employed 500 men who produced 500 tons per day of good quality coking coal. The village school was opened in 1877 and after the closure of the colliery several rows of houses were demolished. I think this is the site of the large open area (now playing fields) and the remaining rows give an idea what the village looked like in its heyday. It is hoped in the future to restore some of the beehive ovens in the woods. It is interesting to note that this site was proposed as a Durham County Council Picnic Site in the 1970s but it never materialised. However, thanks to the great efforts of the local community who manage the site we now have an attractive and useful nature reserve.

Where the road turns sharp to the north, continue past the side of the house in front of you and follow the footpath upriver on the north side. This gradually leaves the river and after passsing through woodland goes through fields to Low West House. We have always seen roe deer when in this vicinity and good birdlife. Much of the land has been subject to open cast mining but has now settled down and as mentioned earlier old moorland is visible. You now follow the access road to the farm climbing steadily for a distance of just under two miles to reach Tow Law.

Tow Law was virtually non existant in 1841 (when there was only one building) but by 1851 there were 2000 inhabitants and this increased to its peak in 1881 when the population was 5000. This was almost entirely due to the efforts of Charles Attwood the Weardale ironmaster. The site of his house in Whickham is passed on the Sanctuary Way Stage 1 walk. At its peak Tow Law had five blast furnaces, two coke works and a foundry which made the cannon balls for The Battle of Inkerman, hence that name as part of Tow Law where the partly restored coke ovens can be found. In 1881 the iron and steel works were moved to Tudhoe and from then onwards the township lost its heart and population.

On reaching the A68 turn right past Dans Castle (noting the date above the door) towards Corbridge, cross the road and turn left at the end of the cemetery. Go around the back of the cemetery and then turn south-west on a clear path behind a circle of houses to a tarmac lane. Cross straight over and in a dip beside a pipe make upwards to the interesting house on your right to pick up the footpath which goes south-west alongside a newly planted hedge to the B6297. There is a wide verge here and the road is taken east to the wood and footpath sign at GR 113386. This foothpath follows the Heatherley Burn but has been a little damaged due to horse riders although it is marked on the OS map as a foothpath. You continue above the burn and the old quarry to arrive at a lane leading down to a large cowshed and this lane is taken left to the east to the Thornley Roadm which is then followed down to Thornley village. This goes back many years and the Hall in the centre dates from 1070, although the current one is only from the 18th Century, being built on the site of the old Hall. The crocuses here are very good in early spring whilst the church is also pleasant.

We return up the hill to the Old Chapel cottage where we turn east along the top of the village and to the right of the last house to pick up the foothpath, not clear on the ground, and walk across two fields to the stile into Thornley Beck Woods. This is a lovely spot where the landowner has given the public access. In this wood we follow the Right of Way down the steps, over the bridge and up the other side and continue ahead to Helme Park Hotel emerging on to the old A68 which used to pass the front door. Turn left and cross the new A68 to take the foothpath opposite. Immediately in front of you is a very wet area which is bypassed to the right and as soon as you pass the water turn left to the stile. This land has been open cast mined and the path is fenced to segregate it from livestock and the wood on your left.

The path heads north-east with horse riding gallops and circuits to the right to emerge at a broad ash track. Turn right to Park Wall and pass through the courtyard to the left to take the access road south-east. At the t-junction turn left along the tarmac road which soon changes to ash and follow this to Craig Lea Road where we turn left. After half a mile we reach Old White Leas Cottage and a closed pub called the Dun Cow. This was a very old nostalgic pub which got rave reviews from the Northern Echo journalist Mike Amos but is now sadly no more. It was known locally as “The Cows Tail”.

We turn right south-east along the bridleway to Roddymoor just past the pub. The original Stockton and Darlington Railway offshoot to Consett climbed the hill near here up to Tow Law and then joined the Stanhope Railway to reach Consett going over Hownes Gill. Go straight through the council estate at Roddymoor and up the hill to Billy Row. At the village green turn left, passing The Green pub and then an interesting terrace of houses, to come out at the Deerness Railway walk which is followed back up the hill to the car park. The snag with starting at the top of the hill on a circular walk is that there is always a climb at the end but doing this walk anti-clockwise is the better alternative