want to carry one in your pannier! pannier! your in one carry to want Weighing about 50kg, you wouldn’t you 50kg, about Weighing the smelt mill at Dukesfield. at mill smelt the A lead ‘pig’, quite possibly from possibly quite ‘pig’, lead A g a agent at Blaydon Refinery. Blaydon at agent a Bl Blaydon, was once the home of the lead company's chief chief company's lead the of home the once was Blaydon, wi with an archway, above you on the right as you enter enter you as right the on you above archway, an with pr present railway station. The handsome but decaying house house decaying but handsome The station. railway present e th the Blaydon Refinery, which stood immediately behind the the behind immediately stood which Refinery, Blaydon the ro road at Stella, then followed it east for the last half mile to to mile half last the for east it followed then Stella, at road g si sign to Path Head Watermill). It joined the main riverside riverside main the joined It Watermill). Head Path to sign n i f final section is now closed off from your route (near the the (near route your from off closed now is section final r G Greenside the lead road begins its descent to the river. Its Its river. the to descent its begins road lead the Greenside w where the Packhorse Inn commemorates the trade. Beyond Beyond trade. the commemorates Inn Packhorse the where also heading for Blaydon. It carries on through Greenside, Greenside, through on carries It Blaydon. for heading also another lead carriers' route from Rookhope in Weardale, Weardale, in Rookhope from route carriers' lead another fell to Currock Hill near Leadgate, where it is joined by by joined is it where Leadgate, near Hill Currock to fell From Hedley the road continues on a gentle rise across the the across rise gentle a on continues road the Hedley From ©M Byron ©M strenuous climb. climb. strenuous Dukesfield Arches Dukesfield ©M Byron ©M the horses could be rested and watered after their their after watered and rested be could horses the Blaydon Staiths Blaydon At this junction there is a pond in a natural hollow where where hollow natural a in pond a is there junction this At www.dukesfield.org.uk Farm, rejoining your route near the top of the hill to Hedley. Hedley. to hill the of top the near route your rejoining Farm, You can find information about the project and the site at at site the and project the about information find can You across the steep hillside of Apperley Bank to Apperley Apperley to Bank Apperley of hillside steep the across historic significance. historic carriage to Blaydon. From here the lead road took a course course a took road lead the here From Blaydon. to carriage investigating and interpreting the site and its local and national national and local its and site the interpreting and investigating transferred from one set of carriers to another, for onward onward for another, to carriers of set one from transferred Carriers Project) set about stabilising the arches and protecting, protecting, and arches the stabilising about set Project) Carriers there was a large transport depot at which lead pieces were were pieces lead which at depot transport large a was there Keelman’s Way Keelman’s ©M Byron ©M Heritage Lottery funded project (the Dukesfield Smelters and and Smelters Dukesfield (the project funded Lottery Heritage house still called Lead Hill, Hill, Lead called still house Autumn riding along the along riding Autumn commemorative stone commemorative ©T Liddle ©T great stone arches we see today. In 2013 a community-led community-led a 2013 In today. see we arches stone great Dene. Here, in the yard of the the of yard the in Here, Dene. ‘For the Friends in Council’ in Friends the ‘For closed and demolished in 1835. All that survived were the two two the were survived that All 1835. in demolished and closed Street (B6309) at Apperley Apperley at (B6309) Street developing turnpike road network and the railway, and it was was it and railway, the and network road turnpike developing enjoyable shorter western loop in its own right. own its in loop western shorter enjoyable crosses the Roman Watling Watling Roman the crosses However, the mill became increasingly cut off from the the from off cut increasingly became mill the However, Apperley via New Ridley and Stocksfield which creates an an creates which Stocksfield and Ridley New via Apperley Shortly afterwards, the road road the afterwards, Shortly westerly wind. There is a short cut back to the Tyne Valley from from Valley Tyne the to back cut short a is There wind. westerly route (the Lead Road) to the riverside quays at Blaydon. at quays riverside the to Road) Lead (the route Wheelbirks and Hindley Hall. Hall. Hindley and Wheelbirks Hill. This whole section often benefits from the prevailing prevailing the from benefits often section whole This Hill. enabled carriage of the lead pieces over a relatively low-level low-level relatively a over pieces lead the of carriage enabled Quaker Richardson family of of family Richardson Quaker unrelenting climb from Apperley Bank Foot to Hedley on the the on Hedley to Foot Bank Apperley from climb unrelenting Devils Water and timber (and later peat) for fuel, and because it it because and fuel, for peat) later (and timber and Water Devils stone, put there by the the by there put stone, whole undulating and gently downhill, except for one one for except downhill, gently and undulating whole Mill was chosen because of its access to water power from the the from power water to access its of because chosen was Mill Hill is a seat and inscribed inscribed and seat a is Hill From above Dukesfield the main Lead Road section is on the the on is section Road Lead main the Dukesfield above From ‘pieces’ weighing about 1 hundredweight. The site of Dukesfield Dukesfield of site The hundredweight. 1 about weighing ‘pieces’ On the roadside below Watch Watch below roadside the On convert the mineral galena into lead metal which was cast into into cast was which metal lead into galena mineral the convert Dukesfield Mill. Dukesfield road and construct the two fine bridges at Bridges Farm. Farm. Bridges at bridges fine two the construct and road The smelt mill used furnaces and oxygen from a blast of air to to air of blast a from oxygen and furnaces used mill smelt The – ironically on the railway that finally signed the death knell for for knell death the signed finally that railway the on ironically – Thomas Blackett, went to considerable expense to divert the the divert to expense considerable to went Blackett, Thomas energy by taking the Tyne Valley train from Blaydon to Hexham Hexham to Blaydon from train Valley Tyne the taking by energy be seen today. today. seen be to find a safe ford. In 1787 the County and the Mill owner, Sir Sir owner, Mill the and County the 1787 In ford. safe a find to Hexham-based bike taxi to Dukesfield. You can save even more more even save can You Dukesfield. to taxi bike Hexham-based moors to Dukesfield Mill, following Carriers Ways which can still still can which Ways Carriers following Mill, Dukesfield to moors Coal Burn, where the road originally made a big detour south south detour big a made originally road the where Burn, Coal save their legs for the ascent to Hedley on the Hill by taking a a taking by Hill the on Hedley to ascent the for legs their save Valleys and elsewhere in the North Pennines over the high high the over Pennines North the in elsewhere and Valleys further on it meets a major obstacle for horses and carts at the the at carts and horses for obstacle major a meets it on further Hexham. It may be sacrilege to suggest it, but the less fit can can fit less the but it, suggest to sacrilege be may It Hexham. ‘carriers’, carried crushed lead ore from mines in the Allen Allen the in mines from ore lead crushed carried ‘carriers’, below Slaley to cross the present A68 at Scales Cross. A mile mile A Cross. Scales at A68 present the cross to Slaley below ascent from Corbridge to Dukesfield, or the steep climb out of of out climb steep the or Dukesfield, to Corbridge from ascent strings of rugged Galloway ponies, led by equally rugged rugged equally by led ponies, Galloway rugged of strings road goes from Dukesfield through the low-lying country country low-lying the through Dukesfield from goes road either Corbridge or Hexham. You can choose either the steady steady the either choose can You Hexham. or Corbridge either north east. From the 1660s and right through the 18th century, century, 18th the through right and 1660s the From east. north follows the ancient ‘Lead Road’ – the lead carriers’ route. The The route. carriers’ lead the – Road’ ‘Lead ancient the follows From Blaydon the route heads west along the Tyne valley to to valley Tyne the along west heads route the Blaydon From This was once one of the most important industrial sites in the the in sites industrial important most the of one once was This Your route between Dukesfield Mill and Blaydon Refinery Refinery Blaydon and Mill Dukesfield between route Your Route description Route Dukesfield Smelt Mill Mill Smelt Dukesfield The Lead Road Road Lead The Useful information The Lead Road Loop DUKESFIELD Bike transport Some 18 miles of the southern, eastbound section of Smelters and Carriers Project Ecocabs Bike taxi transport possible from the Tyne Valley up to this very pleasant route follows the ‘Lead Road’.