Dukesfield Lead Road Cycle Lft.Qxp Layout 1 03/06/2015 12:56 Page 1

Dukesfield Lead Road Cycle lft.qxp_Layout 1 03/06/2015 12:56 Page 1

friendly form of transport invented! transport of form friendly

The bike is the most efficient and environmentally environmentally and efficient most the is bike The

www.friendsofthenorthpennines.org.uk Charity No:1137467 Charity www.friendsofthenorthpennines.org.uk

consideration

The Friends – working to keep the North Pennines special for tomorrow. tomorrow. for special Pennines North the keep to working – Friends The

• File out to allow vehicles to pass and acknowledge driver’s driver’s acknowledge and pass to vehicles allow to out File •

of other sponsors. Friends of the North Pennines: Charity No:1137467 Charity Pennines: North the of Friends sponsors. other of

you can be seen in in seen be can you

landowner, Allendale Estates. It is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the generous support support generous the and Fund Lottery Heritage the by funded is It Estates. Allendale landowner,

• Consider wearing a helmet (correctly) and suitable clothing clothing suitable and (correctly) helmet a wearing Consider • partnership with Hexhamshire and Slaley Parish Councils and has the active support of the the of support active the has and Councils Parish Slaley and Hexhamshire with partnership

The Dukesfield Smelters and Carriers Project is led by the Friends of the North Pennines in in Pennines North the of Friends the by led is Project Carriers and Smelters Dukesfield The necessary

• Make sure your bike is roadworthy and use lights when when lights use and roadworthy is bike your sure Make •

Friends of the North Pennines 07935 337210 07935 Pennines North the of Friends

loose uneven surfaces uneven loose

summarised in another format. another in summarised • Take extra care at junctions, on downhill sections and on on and sections downhill on junctions, at care extra Take •

SAFETY Please ask us if you would like this leaflet leaflet this like would you if us ask Please

or public transport public or

Leaflet design: Marcus Byron Marcus design: Leaflet • Where possible try to reach the start of your route by cycle cycle by route your of start the reach to try possible Where •

for providing route advice. route providing for of Liddle Ted to Thanks

CycleTRAX widely when the rider signals signals rider the when widely

• Always warn of your presence – pass horses slowly and and slowly horses pass – presence your of warn Always •

Arches

courteous and considerate considerate and courteous Road

Dukesfield Lead

• Slow down to pass pedestrians and horse riders – always be be always – riders horse and pedestrians pass to down Slow •

Slaley Chapel

• Always obey the Highway Code Highway the obey Always •

Chopwell

8 B Whitley

Lea

d d

Road A6

Stocksfield Cycling code and hints and code Cycling

Riding Mill Riding

Greenside

Blaydon

[email protected] 0014 264 0191

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HEXHAM PRUDHOE

95 Newburn Sports Centre Sports Newburn

6 (mountain bikes only) bikes (mountain

6 5

0 Ryton

[email protected] [email protected] 220210 01434

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Corbridge

Wylam

A 69 The Bike Place Bike The Bellingham (hybrid bikes by arrangement) by bikes (hybrid Bellingham UPON-TYNE

NEWCASTLE-

[email protected]

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The Cycle Hub Cycle The 0191 276 7250 7250 276 0191 Newcastle

■ Railway station Railway t

Cycle hire Cycle Cycle route Cycle

Landranger 1: 50K - 87 (Hexham), 88 (Newcastle) 88 (Hexham), 87 - 50K 1: Landranger

Take extra care! care! extra Take Crossing the A68, roads in the Blaydon area Blaydon the in roads A68, the Crossing

Ordnance Survey maps Survey Ordnance

Total ascent ascent Total 947m/3,106ft

01434 620450 01434 hexham.TIC@northumberland.gov.uk

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Grade Grade Mostly moderate (however there is one very steep hill) steep very one is there (however moderate Mostly tourist-information-centre/hexham-tourist-information-centre

Ride time time Ride 4 to 5 hours for an average cyclist, plus stops plus cyclist, average an for hours 5 to 4

www.visitnorthumberland.com/

■

Hexham Wentworth Carpark, Hexham, NE46 1QE 1QE NE46 Hexham, Carpark, Wentworth Start Start Blaydon, Corbridge or Hexham or Corbridge Blaydon, the old Lead Road from Hexhamshire to Blaydon to Hexhamshire from Road Lead old the

OS maps OS Landranger: Hexham (87) & Newcastle upon Tyne (88) Tyne upon Newcastle & (87) Hexham Landranger: Tourist Information Tourist

A 40-mile loop along the Tyne Valley, returning on returning Valley, Tyne the along loop 40-mile A

Length miles/ (full loop) (full miles/ / 66km/41 4

1 Hexham (Wentworth carpark - free/parking disk) free/parking - carpark (Wentworth

Corbridge (east side of the river - free) - river the of side (east

Blaydon Shopping Centre Centre Shopping Blaydon in a westerly direction along the Tyne valley. Tyne the along direction westerly a in

Parking ‘Keelman’s Way’ for much of the section from Blaydon Blaydon from section the of much for Way’ ‘Keelman’s

distribution and export. Fittingly, the route follows the the follows route the Fittingly, export. and distribution

www.northernrail.org possible) not (reservation train per ■

onto keel boats for onward carriage to Newcastle for for Newcastle to carriage onward for boats keel onto Newcastle to Hexham to Newcastle 5-6 a day stop at Blaydon. Two bikes bikes Two Blaydon. at stop day a 5-6

A bike ride with a difference a with ride bike A

‘refined’ to extract silver. The lead was then loaded loaded then was lead The silver. extract to ‘refined’ Rail

Dukesfield Smelt Mill to Blaydon where some of it was was it of some where Blaydon to Mill Smelt Dukesfield

www.600600.co.uk [email protected]

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■ The Lead Road Cycle Route Cycle Road Lead The w e gone by horses and carts carried pieces of lead from from lead of pieces carried carts and horses by gone

01434 600600 600600 01434 Arches Dukesfield the ■

this very pleasant route follows the ‘Lead Road’. In days days In Road’. ‘Lead the follows route pleasant very this

Ecocabs Bike taxi transport possible from the Tyne Valley up to to up Valley Tyne the from possible transport taxi Bike

Some 18 miles of the southern, eastbound section of of section eastbound southern, the of miles 18 Some Smelters and Carriers Project Carriers and Smelters

Bike transport Bike

DUKESFIELD

The Lead Road Loop Road Lead The Useful information Useful

Route description Dukesfield Smelt Mill The Lead Road From Blaydon the route heads west along the Tyne valley to This was once one of the most important industrial sites in the Your route between Dukesfield Mill and Blaydon Refinery either Corbridge or Hexham. You can choose either the steady north east. From the 1660s and right through the 18th century, follows the ancient ‘Lead Road’ – the lead carriers’ route. The ascent from Corbridge to Dukesfield, or the steep climb out of strings of rugged Galloway ponies, led by equally rugged road goes from Dukesfield through the low-lying country Hexham. It may be sacrilege to suggest it, but the less fit can ‘carriers’, carried crushed lead ore from mines in the Allen below Slaley to cross the present A68 at Scales Cross. A mile save their legs for the ascent to Hedley on the Hill by taking a Valleys and elsewhere in the North Pennines over the high further on it meets a major obstacle for horses and carts at the Hexham-based bike taxi to Dukesfield. You can save even more moors to Dukesfield Mill, following Carriers Ways which can still Coal Burn, where the road originally made a big detour south energy by taking the Tyne Valley train from Blaydon to Hexham be seen today. to find a safe ford. In 1787 the County and the Mill owner, Sir – ironically on the railway that finally signed the death knell for The smelt mill used furnaces and oxygen from a blast of air to Thomas Blackett, went to considerable expense to divert the Dukesfield Mill. convert the mineral galena into lead metal which was cast into road and construct the two fine bridges at Bridges Farm. From above Dukesfield the main Lead Road section is on the ‘pieces’ weighing about 1 hundredweight. The site of Dukesfield On the roadside below Watch whole undulating and gently downhill, except for one Mill was chosen because of its access to water power from the Hill is a seat and inscribed unrelenting climb from Apperley Bank Foot to Hedley on the Devils Water and timber (and later peat) for fuel, and because it stone, put there by the Hill. This whole section often benefits from the prevailing enabled carriage of the lead pieces over a relatively low-level Quaker Richardson family of westerly wind. There is a short cut back to the Tyne Valley from route (the Lead Road) to the riverside quays at Blaydon. Wheelbirks and Hindley Hall. Apperley via New Ridley and Stocksfield which creates an However, the mill became increasingly cut off from the Shortly afterwards, the road enjoyable shorter western loop in its own right. developing turnpike road network and the railway, and it was crosses the Roman Watling Street (B6309) at Apperley closed and demolished in 1835. All that survived were the two ‘For the Friends in Council’ great stone arches we see today. In 2013 a community-led Dene. Here, in the yard of the Autumn riding along the commemorative stone ©T Liddle Heritage Lottery funded project (the Dukesfield Smelters and house still called Lead Hill, Keelman’s Way ©M Byron Carriers Project) set about stabilising the arches and protecting, there was a large transport depot at which lead pieces were investigating and interpreting the site and its local and national transferred from one set of carriers to another, for onward historic significance. carriage to Blaydon. From here the lead road took a course across the steep hillside of Apperley Bank to Apperley You can find information about the project and the site at Farm, rejoining your route near the top of the hill to Hedley. www.dukesfield.org.uk At this junction there is a pond in a natural hollow where Blaydon Staiths the horses could be rested and watered after their ©M Byron Dukesfield Arches strenuous climb. ©M Byron From Hedley the road continues on a gentle rise across the fell to Currock Hill near Leadgate, where it is joined by another lead carriers' route from Rookhope in Weardale, also heading for Blaydon. It carries on through Greenside, wwhere the Packhorse Inn commemorates the trade. Beyond GGreensider the lead road begins its descent to the river. Its ffinalin section is now closed off from your route (near the sisigng to Path Head Watermill). It joined the main riverside roroad at Stella, then followed it east for the last half mile to ththee Blaydon Refinery, which stood immediately behind the prpresent railway station. The handsome but decaying house wiwith an archway, above you on the right as you enter BlBlaydon,a was once the home of the lead company's chief aagentg at Blaydon Refinery. A lead ‘pig’, quite possibly from the smelt mill at Dukesfield. Weighing about 50kg, you wouldn’t want to carry one in your pannier! Dukesfield Lead Road Cycle lft.qxp_Layout 1 03/06/2015 12:56 Page 2 Blaydon (65.8km) Blaydon Burn Blaydon Staiths Blaydon

NEWCASTLE- UPON-TYNE ) Greenside

Winlaton (A695 option Off-road (MTB)

Highway

£ £ works Highest point on route Currock Hill 256m

Blaydon

141 panel to ‘Wylam’ Rd Centre n Blaydon o Take left signed Take Shopping ‘Keelman’s Way‘ Way‘ ‘Keelman’s

Shibd Information

Way n’s

Hedley-on-the-Hill ma 01 23km

River T 141

e St roundabout Bridg Use wide path with care to avoid

BLAYDON A695 72

£ £

Crawcrook 141

Pumphrey’s Coffee Rooms d Dukesfield Arches Distance in km Greenside Blaydon Burn.

High Spen

option through Off-road (MTB) Heddon-on-the-Wall Lead Roa Lead Route profile Route Castle Hill Hexham Wylam Chopwell Corbridge

Leadgate 72

£ £ Lead Road Lead Horsley PRUDHOE Ovingham

£ £ Wylam Route on road Route on cycle path/off-road Alternative route/short cut Other cycle path care at this point/section Take NCN route number/steep hill (points downhill) Railway and station Mickley Square 0 102030405060 Blaydon 0 50 250 200 150 100 Height in metres

Car parkCafe Public toilets Pub shopFood away Take Bike repair/sales/hire Cashpoint Hedley-on -the-Hill

Key 72 Ovington Apperley Dene

New Ridley

Stocksfield fords

B6309 B6309 Hindley Hill Watch stone Bywell ‘Lead Road’

commemorative Lead Road Lead Wheelbirks 72 A68 Scales Cross

A68

Tyne a

River Lead

Riding Mill B6530 Kellas Plantation

£ £ Corbridge

A69 Heading towards the highest point of route near Hedley-on-the-Hill

95 * The notes on the two detail maps are written for anti-clockwise travel

Slaley

6307

79 A60 Dipton Wood H

A695 ne Juniper’ Centre Leisure Dye House & Waitrose

‘Whitley Chapel Turn R following Turn

River Ty B6306 Tyne just before

Tap & Spile pub Tap Priestpopple Turn L up Eastgate, Turn

Tesco

Anick e at g

East Wood River

Sandyford Plantation

£ HEXHAM

£ Hi

Duke’s House Battle Battle Tap & Spile Tap Dukesfield Hall Fell Plantation Fell Acomb

£ £ The Sele (park) Juniper The Lead Road Loop The Lead Road you might prefer to cycle can start the route at any point and cycle in either direction. However, You anti-clockwise as the climbs are generally more rideable this way*. Also you will be following Lead Road in the same direction as carriers led their ponies over 200 years ago. Blaydon is ideal start and finish for Newcastle-based descent into cyclists, but remember that to enjoy the gravity-assisted Blaydon, one way or another you have to climb the high ground first! Dukesfield Arches Whitley Chapel

HEXHAM A69