OutOutandandAboutAbout Walking and cycling in Stockton-on-Tees 1212 greatgreat placesplaces toto exploreexplore Big plans for great experiences OutandAbout In Stockton-on-Tees we are very 1 Wynyard Woodland Park lucky to have so many fantastic parks and other places to visit 2 Newham Grange Park/ right here on our doorstep, and Hardwick Dene lots of attractive traffic-free paths for getting around. 3 Grangefield Park This guide shows you twelve great destinations which you can reach easily by 4 Ropner Park/Six Fields walking or cycling. Whether you’re looking for a park with a playground, a place to 5 Coatham Wood walk your dog, or somewhere peaceful to enjoy wildlife you’ll find somewhere that’s 6 Preston Park/Quarry Wood just right for you. Use the handy key below to see at a glance 7 Romano Park what each destination has to offer. There’s 8 Tees Heritage Park Nature Reserves also a map at the end of this guide showing the featured parks and selected routes for walking and cycling. This includes the 9 Tees Barrage/Portrack Marsh National Cycle Network, other linking cycle paths, the Teesdale Way and the Thornaby 10 Billingham Beck Valley Country Park Trail. 11 John Whitehead Park For more detailed information about these (and other) parks and trails please use the 12 Cowpen Bewley Woodland Park web links provided. Welcome to Stockton’s great outdoors! IDEAL FOR IDEAL FOR CAFÉ TOILETS PLAY CAR BOWLING GAMES OUTDOOR TENNIS SKATE CYCLING WALKING AREA PARKING CLUB AREA GYM COURTS PARK 1 PLAY AREA CAFÉ TOILETS IDEAL FOR WALKING IDEAL FOR Wynyard Woodland Park CYCLING You’ll need plenty of time to explore • Admire the carpets of bluebells and every corner of this wonderful ramsons (wild garlic) on a springtime country park: from Thorpe Wood, walk in Thorpe Wood CAR PARKING an ancient woodland of oak, ash • Stroll through Pickards Meadow - the and wych elm, right up to Tilery size of over ten football pitches, it’s one Woods, Brierley Woods and Pickards of the biggest wildflower meadows in Meadow in the north. the Tees Valley The Castle Eden Walkway provides a • Find out what’s cooking in the Celestial wonderful cycling and walking route Kitchen - a sculpture in Stony Field through the heart of the park, and inspired by the park’s astronomical can be followed south all the way associations past Thorpe Thewles into Stockton (National Cycle Network Route 1). Children will love the big adventure A great play area and the former Thorpe place for a Thewles Railway Station provides cycle ride a special setting for the tea rooms – whatever and a beautiful arts venue run by your age or Missing Piece. The park is also ability home to Wynyard Planetarium and Observatory. Visit their websites for information about forthcoming events. 2 IDEAL FOR WALKING PLAY AREA BOWLING CLUB Newham Grange Park/ Hardwick Dene Newham Grange Park is a beautiful • Eat outdoors at the special artist landscaped park with mature trees, meadows designed picnic tables in Newham and a play area. Grange Park A cycleway links the park to Hardwick Dene; • In spring listen out for the drumming a patchwork of meadows, woodlands and sound of the great spotted hedgerows in the heart of urban Stockton. Over woodpecker in Elm Tree Wood 90 plant species flourish in the meadow area south of Hardwick Beck, including common spotted orchid, devil’s-bit scabious, betony and ragged robin. This abundance of grasses and flowers attracts numerous butterflies with one notable species being the white-letter hairstreak butterfly which gets its name from a white line in the shape of the letter “w” on the Crookes Kenny Credit: underside of the hind wing. Start small – 10 From Hardwick Dene you can minutes of activity walk across Darlington Back at a time can give Lane to the delightful Elm real benefits Tree Wood. 2 3 PLAY AREA GAMES AREA OUTDOOR GYM IDEAL FOR WALKING IDEAL FOR Grangefield Park CYCLING A lovely natural park with cycleway • Fancy a longer walk? Then walk the full linking Oxbridge Lane and length of the park and return via Oxbridge Grangefield Road (part of National Cemetery on the opposite side of Lustrum Cycle Network Route 14). Beck Lustrum Beck flows along the edge • Challenge yourself on the park’s 400 of Grangefield Park and there are metre fitness trail, including situp bench, lovely views across the beck towards push-up bars, upper body trainer Oxbridge Cemetery. It’s also a great and body flexer (suitable place for children and adults to get for people aged 14 active with a toddlers play area, years and over). multi-use games area and outdoor gym equipment set out along a fitness trail. An active From the north end of the park you Credit: Kenny Crookes Kenny Credit: body is an can continue along the cycle route into Stockton, or from the southern active mind! end there is a cycle link to the Castle Eden Walkway. 4 PLAY AREA TENNIS COURTS CAFÉ TOILETS BOWLING Ropner Park/Six Fields CLUB Ropner Park has been fully restored to its original • Look out for ‘Fish CAR Victorian splendour. Stroll by the lakeside or along Swallowing Bird’, a PARKING tree-lined avenues and admire the splendid floral sculpture by Mick displays. There’s a fabulous play area, tennis courts, Thacker bowls club and large grassed areas for games and • Enjoy refreshments in picnics. IDEAL FOR the pavilion café and WALKING First opened in 1893 the park is named after the summertime concerts wealthy Victorian ship owner and ship builder Major at the bandstand, Robert Ropner, who provided the money needed to all organised by the establish the park. Friends of Ropner Park The main entrance to the Six Fields is a short walk away down Darlington Road. Informal footpaths criss-cross this fine stretch of countryside, with its Step outside woodlands, meadows and hedgerows. A cycleway joins the Castle Eden Walkway to the north and continues to to increase Preston Park to the south. your happy hormones! 4 5 CAR PARKING IDEAL FOR WALKING Coatham Wood On the edge of Long Newton village is • Look out for roe deer grazing in Coatham Wood; a vast new woodland open areas of the woodland created by the Forestry Commission. • Barn owls, tawny owl, little owls, Its mix of broadleaved and conifer long-eared owls and short-eared trees, ponds and meadows make it a owls - keep your eyes and ears great habitat for all kinds of wildlife. open because they’ve all been Look out for newts and dragonflies spotted here around the ponds, or if you’re lucky you may see (or hear) any of the five species of owl commonly found in the UK. There are two waymarked walking routes to help you find your way around Coatham Wood, or you can simply wander along the many mown rides. Horse riding is by permit only. You can easily reach Coatham Wood by bike, following National Cycle Network Route 14 from Hartburn and the Castle Eden Walkway. Credit: Kenny Crookes Kenny Credit: 6 PLAY AREA SKATE PARK CAFÉ TOILETS CAR Preston Park/Quarry Wood PARKING Preston Hall dates back to the 1820s • Enjoy a taste of life in the 19th and the surrounding farmland was century Preston Hall by visiting the IDEAL FOR gradually transformed into a landscaped restored walled kitchen garden and WALKING estate which provides the setting for the orchard present-day park. There really is something for everyone, • Leave the car at home. Cycle or whether you want to explore the museum, walk to Preston Park from Ingleby visit Butterfly World, ride on the small- Barwick, Hartburn or South Thornaby gauge railway, or take a trip on the by using the excellent river with the Teesside Princess or traffic-free paths Rivershack’s RiverBoat. For something – suitable for a bit more active, Rivershack also have all of the rowing boats, or back on dry land there’s family a fantastic play area and skate park. A short walk alongside the River Tees brings you to Quarry Wood Nature Reserve. Walk or cycle Now a beautiful woodland, this was once to the park - the a busy whinstone quarry, journey is all with the stone transported by river and later via part of the fun the adjacent Stockton to Darlington Railway. 6 7 PLAY AREA GAMES AREA Romano Park The impressive landscaped play • Rest on the unique female and male great crested area is the main attraction in newt seats, designed by artist Andrew McKeown this small park. It’s a wonderful with help from children from nearby Barley Fields play environment for children of and Myton Park Primary Schools all ages, with features such as a rope bridge, zip wires, balancing • Climb, jump, swing, dig, run, wires, sand play and, crowning balance, spin... explore the skyline, a ‘Hill Fort’ made of every corner of the vertical pillars of green oak. fantastic play area There’s also more traditional play equipment such as swings, slides and roundabouts. Good footpaths Playing wind their way through the park, and there’s plenty of picnic tables. outside If you prefer some peace and quiet helps then seek out Barwick Pond which children is adjacent to the park. It was created in the 1990s to provide a to learn home to great crested newts. 8 IDEAL FOR WALKING Sit less, move more, sleep better! Tees Heritage Park Nature Reserves The Tees Heritage Park stretches from Yarm to Stockton along the valley of the River Tees. Not all the land is open to the public, but you can explore the area by following the Teesdale Way, Thornaby Trail and many other paths.