Gainford to Ingleton - The Way of Life

Start : St Mary's Church, Gainford. (DL2 3DS) Grid ref. NZ 169 166

(S) From St Mary's Church, walk North along the edge of Gainford Village Green, cross Low Road and walk North-East along High Green, cross Main Road (A67) and continue along North Terrace, then North Lane leaving Gainford behind.

(1) At the bend in the road, cross the stile over the stone wall and continue on the same North-Easterly path across the field passing an L-shaped wall to the left about halfway across the field. At the field boundary, go through the hedge and turn right following the path, after about 50m, the path will turn left back on the same North-East direction until you reach the road.

(2) Turn right onto Rigg Head, this initially goes East then bends around to the North-East. This road is narrow and there are no footpaths so please be mindful of traffic. Continue to Headlam Hall.

(3) Take the grass path directly opposite the entrance to Headlam Hall (North-West), look to your left to see the ancient packhorse bridge in the trees, continue past the stone-walled enclosure on the right before rejoining the road. Continue in this direction bearing right at the road fork between the houses. The path runs between 2 fences until it reaches Back Lane. Turn left onto Back Lane.

(4) After approximately 80m, look for a post marked with the Saints' Trail marker on the right, go through the gate and cross the field in a North-Westerly direction. At the hedgeline, turn left (West) and continue to follow the field boundary to the road. Turn right (North) onto Ford Dyke Lane.

(5) Turn left (West) at the junction for Langton following Hulam Lane around to the right. After the first bend look for a path to your right by the Langton sign. You may have to climb the gate, follow the path across the field in a northeasterly direction. Cross the footbridge over Langton Beck. Bear right at the farm, following the farm track (North-East).

(6) This track will bend to the right, look for a path which continues northwards from this bend. Follow the path along the hedgeline past the playing field exiting onto Front Street, Ingleton beside St John the Evangelist Church (E).

Start : St Mary's Church, Gainford. (DL2 3DS) Grid ref. NZ 169 166

Transport: This area is rural and served by few buses. There is no dedicated parking in either Ingleton or Gainford so this will need to be on the road. Other options include leaving the car in Darlington, Barnard Castle or Staindrop which are connected to the villages. Gainford is served by the X75/76 (Darlington to Barnard Castle, Arriva). Ingleton is served by 70 (Ingleton to Barnard Castle, Hodgsons, 3 daily), 84 (Darlington to Barnard Castle, Weardale, 4/5 daily, not Sunday).

A further option is to park near the Black Horse Pub in Ingleton and walk straight down Gainford Road/Ford Dyke Lane to Gainford (2.7 miles/4.3 km) to make this a circular walk.

Facilities: Cross Keys in Gainford (check opening times), Headlam Hall does lunches and afternoon teas but check as you may need to book, and the Black Horse at Ingleton (check opening times). There are no other facilities on this route.

Accessibility: Most of the walk is across fields and there is one stile. This walk can be very muddy in wet weather.

Accommodation: There are a number of rental cottages in Gainford and the surrounding villages. There are also a number of hotels in Darlington, Richmond and Barnard Castle to use as a base, and of course Headlam Hall itself is an option. There is a lot in this area to explore so it is worth considering a day or two to explore the area before beginning the walk.

• St Mary's Church, Gainford - Gainford is a pretty village which is worth exploring before starting the walk. The church stands on the banks of the River Tees which can be explored and there is an ancient well behind the church.
• Headlam Hall - good place to stop for refreshments, but check if bookings are necessary (3) .
• Headlam Packhorse Bridge - this is just one of a number of scheduled monuments in this pretty village, look to your left as this is down in the trees as you cross the grass path opposite Headlam Hall.