Barnard Castle, the River Tees & Egglestone Abbey

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 The Northern Echo 47 Walks what’son Walks Barnard Castle, the River Tees & Egglestone Abbey Walk information

Distance: 5.1 km (3.2 miles) known as the ‘Rising of the North’, Abbey Bridge that spans the powerful Time: 2 hours an ill-fated attempt to re-establish waters of the Tees in a single graceful Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne. stone arch rising from the limestone Maps: OS Explorer OL 31 ‘North The castle, along with the lordship ledges and rocks deep within a Pennines’ of Raby, had several further owners narrow wooded gorge, an impressive before it passed into the hands of Sir sight after heavy rain. Parking: Pay & Display car parks Henry Vane in 1630, who subsequently just off the Market Place in the made Raby Castle his main residence. centre of Barnard Castle. The walk Refreshments: Plenty of facilities On the east side of Barnard Castle at Barnard Castle. stands the Bowes Museum, a large 1. From the Market Place in the centre How to get there: Follow the A67 French-style chateau that was of Barnard Castle, walk down along north from the A66 or west from designed by French architect Jules the main road through to reach the Darlington to reach Barnard Castle. Pellechet for John Bowes, son of the Market Cross (or Butter Market) at Earl of Strathmore. The Earls of the bottom of the Market Place, where Terrain: Field, riverside and Strathmore, otherwise known by the you carry straight on down along The woodland paths, with some short name of Bowes-Lyon, have been a Bank then, at the bottom of The Bank stretches of road walking. There very influential and powerful family where the main road bends sharp are a couple of stiles to cross. in the North East for many centuries right along Bridgegate, head straight accruing vast estates, castles in Caution: Some of the paths are on down along Thorngate (passing Scotland and great wealth – their most old houses and mills) to reach the end muddy and/or slippery. There are a famous descendent was Elizabeth of the road where you cross a large couple of sharp drops down to the Bowes-Lyon, the Queen Mother who footbridge over the River Tees. Turn river alongside the Tees. Take care was descended from the 11th Earl left immediately after the bridge along walking along the roads. of Strathmore, John Bowes’ uncle. a tarmac riverside footpath (signpost John Bowes married a French actress ‘Egglestone Abbey’), and follow this called Josephine, who obviously path straight on for 225 metres to influenced his taste in design, and reach a fork in the path beside some Points of interest they began to collect art treasures, houses and a small allotment. Take particularly 17th to 19th Century the left-hand riverside path and follow French, Spanish and Italian paintings, IT is always a delight to visit Barnard this straight on, passing waterfalls, furniture and ceramics. They had (becomes grassy/muddy path) for a Castle and walk around its streets, always intended to display these for here you will find a wonderful old further 250 metres to emerge out onto treasures for the public to see and a caravan site. Follow the tarmac lane market town in the heart of Teesdale, so the Bowes Museum was purpose- Egglestone Abbey. Continue straight very slightly right across the field with a wide range of traditional straight on for 50 metres to reach a built to house the collection. Sadly T-junction with another lane, where on along the road passing Abbey passing to the right of a roofless shops, so hard to find in many other they both died before the museum Mill (house) on your left, leaving the barn and through a gate just towns. It also has lots of see, including you turn right and follow this lane opened in 1892, however it remains meandering up through the caravan abbey ruins behind, for a further beyond, after which head straight a castle and a rather fine chateau. The one of the finest private collections 300 metres to reach a road junction dramatic ruins of Bernard Baliol’s site for 200 metres then, as you leave on across the field alongside the of art treasures in the country with the caravan site, continue along the (traffic lights) where you turn left 12th Century castle rise boldly above fence/riverbank on your left to paintings by artists such as El Greco, lane rising up for 50 metres then, over Abbey Bridge. Immediately the wooded banks of the Tees. The join a lane at Demesnes Mill Farm. Goya and Canaletto. opposite the playing/football field on after the bridge take the footpath to Baliol family became very powerful Follow this lane straight on between your right, turn left over a stile that the left (signpost ‘Teesdale Way’) and during the 12th and 13th Centuries, the houses then across the playing leads out onto fields (marked by a red follow the path slanting down across indeed in 1282 Devorguilla, the fields, then straight on along the lane From Barnard Castle, a river path bin). the wooded riverbank. The path soon widow of John Baliol, founded Baliol leads down to join Abbey Lane and the levels out and leads on across the between the houses to emerge back in College at Oxford whilst their son, ruins of Egglestone Abbey. This abbey wooded riverbank to reach a kissing- Barnard Castle. Turn right back up John, became King of Scotland in was founded in the 1190s by a group 2. After the stile, walk straight gate at the end of the woods. The Bank into the town centre. 1292. Their fortunes soon declined, of Premonstratensian monks, who on across the field and through a however, as this new King of Scotland were very similar to the Cistercian gap in the hedgerow (beside the was defeated in battle by Edward I Order in that they followed a strict corner of woodland), after which 3. After the gate, head straight on Mark Reid of England in 1296, and their castle rule of austerity. Following Henry continue straight on across three keeping close to the field-edge/ Walking Weekends 2014 and estates were forfeited. Ownership VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries fields alongside the woodland/field wooded riverbank on your left Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, of the castle passed to the Earls of in the 16th Century, some of the boundary on your left (River Tees across a number of fields then Lake District & Snowdonia Warwick for the next 200 years then redundant buildings were rebuilt out of sight down across to your passing to the left of the water walkingweekenders.co.uk in the late 15th Century it passed to as an Elizabethan Hall, however, left) to join a road (Abbey Lane). treatment works along a wide Unique corporate activity days, Richard III and remained in Royal these are now also ruins. Below the Turn left along the road and follow it enclosed path (still with the River hands until 1603. The castle played abbey ruins stands the 17th Century navigation skills and team building down to join the banks of the River Tees on your left) to reach a gate an important part in the defeat of the Bow Bridge, also known as Thorsgill Tees, over Bow Bridge (ancient Bow experiences in the great outdoors. at the end of the treatment works. Northern Earls who rose up against Packhorse Bridge, whilst downstream Bridge adjacent to road bridge) then teamwalking.co.uk Elizabeth I in 1569 in what became is the the spectacular 18th Century on passing beneath the ruins of Head through the gate and bear

Countrydiary By Phil GatesBBirdwatch y Ian Kerr

rambles seem to be ripening early prickly stems are often festooned with the oseate terns are really lovely graceful greater numbers of common, arctic and this year and it looks like there might spiral snares of orb-web spiders that look seabirds which take their name from Sandwich terns. This is the period when B be a bumper crop. Harvesting them Rthe most delicate of pinkish flushes particularly beautiful when they sparkle some turn up in regular roosting areas for a bramble and apple pie is one of the with early morning dew. which mark their chests and underparts. along the coasts of Durham, Cleveland and pleasures of late summer, and also offers It’s hard to pick brambles without being We are extremely lucky in the north east, Yorkshire It’s always a treat to pick out a some opportunities for wildlife watching. pricked by the spines and it’s this sharp in having one of only three colonies in the ‘rosy’ or two among the crowd. British Isles, giving us a good chance to see Over-ripe blackberries are a great defence, along with the dense tangle of Tom Cadwallender, who rings the Coquet attraction for butterflies, especially for thick stems, that also makes the plant prime this uncommon species. Breeding numbers in Britain have plunged by half over the chicks, tells me that this year’s successful commas, peacocks, small tortoiseshells habitat for mammals and birds. The field season has been down to an abundance of and red admirals that come to drink the mice that live in tunnels in the grass under past 25 years and they are now almost exclusively confined to Coquet Island, in sand eels, stable food of all our terns. Dry juice that leaks from softening fruit. the plant feed on the fruit that bramble- and warm weather and lack of storms, This sometimes ferments in the sun, so pickers miss, while roe deer and even Northumberland and two sites around Dublin Bay in southern Ireland. The which can wash out eggs, kill chicks and the insects become slightly intoxicated badgers will take their share. Birds will make feeding difficult, also played a part. and are easy to approach. There’s a moth often build nests within the impenetrable reduction has been blamed on persecution that’s closely associated with brambles shield of the plant’s stems and they are very in their West African wintering grounds This spring a milestone was reached too. It’s the bramble leaf miner, whose effective dispersal agents where they are caught for food and from with the 1,500th chick being ringed since tiny caterpillars feed inside the foliage, for the species. The small competition for breeding sites from more the Coquet programme began in 1991. leaving telltale meandering tracks between hard seeds eventually pass aggressive gulls. Ringing has shown that many adults return the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf. unharmed through the birds’ Breeding this year has been exception- year after year to nest there although birds Hoverflies and wasps also congregate guts and can be voided miles ally good on Coquet Island with 93 pairs, from the Irish colonies can also turn up and to claim their share of the ripe fruit. away from their original just one short of the record season of breed. The population appears to be stable All the insect activity that’s associated location, especially if they’re 2006, fledging well over 100 young. Adults so, with luck, we should be able to continue with brambles makes the plant a fertile carried by migratory birds and juveniles are now starting their enjoying their elegant late summer hunting ground for spiders. The thickets of in autumn. southwards migration, mixed with much presence along the coast.