Rough Rigg to Cow Green - Durham Round Trail

The 13th section of the Durham Round Trail is short and can easily be added to the previous section. The section starts with a walk down through fields which affords good views of the surrounding land. The route then climbs again across farmland and moorland until it reaches Cow Green Reservoir.

Technical sheet No. 31836542

A Forest and Frith walk posted on 21/03/23 by sarahhcfe. Last update : 24/05/23
Calculated time Calculated time: 1h35 ?
Distance Distance : 4.31 km
Vertical gain Vertical gain : 109 m
Vertical drop Vertical drop : 118 m
Highest point Highest point : 542 m
Lowest point Lowest point : 433 m
Moderate Difficulty : Moderate
Back to starting point Back to starting point : No
Walking Walking
Location Location : Forest and Frith
Starting point Starting point : N 54.703127° / W 2.281267°
Ending point Ending point : N 54.672733° / W 2.294555°
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Description

Start : White house on the B6277, 4.5 Km north of Langdon Beck . (What3Words ///mailings.palms.gifted) Grid ref. NY 819 342

(D) From the white house on the B6277, pick the trail up again. The fingerpost for the footpath is on the opposite side of the road to the house. Walk due South straight across the field. Drygill Syke will be on your right.

(1) After 300 m or so, when you reach the far corner of the field, cross the wall in front of you, then turn left and cross the next wall. Cross Drygill Sike and then walk across the field in a South-Westerly direction heading for the row of white cottages.

(2) When you reach the road, turn right (West) and then turn left in front of the cottages down a track heading South-West then South. When you reach the buildings, walk around the back of them and pick up a footpath heading South-East.

(3) When you reach Harwood Beck, cross it using the footbridge then bear left and walk south across the field towards the building. Continue South.

(4) When you reach the disused sheepfold on your left, cross Touting Hill Sike. Continue South crossing Machesgill Sike. After 1.8 Km you will reach the road by a cluster of buildings and a small car parking area.

(5) Turn right (South-West) onto the road and walk to the viewpoint and picnic area at Cow Green Reservoir (A).

Waypoints :
D : km 0 - alt. 519 m - B6277/White House
1 : km 0.3 - alt. 479 m - Wall Junction
2 : km 0.79 - alt. 446 m - White Cottages
3 : km 1.19 - alt. 433 m - Footbridge over Harwood Beck
4 : km 1.85 - alt. 483 m - Disused Sheepfold
5 : km 3.61 - alt. 510 m - Road/Small Car Parking Area
A : km 4.31 - alt. 510 m - Cow Green Reservoir Picnic Area

Useful Information

Start : White house on the B6277, 4.5 Km north of Langdon Beck . (What3Words ///mailings.palms.gifted) Grid ref. NY 819 342

Transport: There are no buses, there is parking at Cow Green Reservoir but you will need to take a taxi to the start point. Alternatively, make this a longer walk by joining with other sections following the alternative route described below, to the start of the walk. Try Appleby Taxis.

Facilities: There are no facilities along the route, you will need to bring everything with you. There is a picnic area at Cow Green Reservoir.

Accessibility: The terrain is muddy and there may be some walls to climb. This route is not accessible, an alternative has been given above.

Accommodation: The Langdon Beck Hotel and High Force Hotel are nearby.

Note: This route has few distinguishable paths and care needs to be taken as the sikes and gills (streams) run through marshy land. Some of the drystone walls have no means of crossing such as gates or stiles and therefore care must be taken to cross safely and cause no to damage the wall itself. An alternative route using the roads and tracks is detailed below.

Alternative Route: From the white house on the B6277, walk along the road heading south to Langdon Beck until you reach a road junction by a white house. turn right and take the footpath across the field towards the farm, or follow the road around. Follow the road south passing the farm to the right. Pause at the bridge to take in the view then continue until you reach the junction, turn right and walk towards Cow Green Reservoir passing (5) on the way to (A).

Visorando and this author cannot be held responsible in the case of accidents or problems occuring on this walk.

During the walk or to do/see around

  • Enjoy the beautifyl landscape and pretty whitewashed buildings of the area.
  • Check out the shake holes in the landscape (depressions in the landscape similar to sinkholes).
  • Cow Green Reservoir and Cauldron's Snout - The reservoir sits half in County Durham and half in Cumbria. Enjoy the spectacular Cauldron's Snout with water cascading down from the reservoir.

Other walks in the area

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The GPS track and description are the property of the author.

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