The Derwent Walk Country Park is a mixture of natural woodlands, meadows, wetlands, riverside and reclaimed industrial sites, all linked by the 11 mile Derwent Walk, track-bed of the old Derwent Valley Railway.

The path shadows the River Derwent for most of the way, passing through the villages of Shotley Bridge,  Ebchester and Rowlands Gill. There are good views over the Derwent Valley and the three great viaducts of Pont Burn, Fogoes and Lockhaugh to pass under. And watch out for the many concrete snow-posts where the depth of snow is recorded in Roman numerals, measuring up to four feet of snow in bad winters. There's also the half-buried platform of Swalwell Station to look out for.

It's not that long ago, in the early 1960's, that this route still hosted trains. Once, 12 trains a day hurried from Newcastle to Blackhill and it was a bit of a battleground for rival train companies. Originally, part of the 'Consett Branch', trains ran from Durham to Newcastle in a loop, taking in Lanchester, Consett and Rowlands Gill (these lines have all been made into cycle paths now as part of the National Cycle Network). In the Summer of 1861, the line almost became part of a major trunk route carrying trains of the London and North Western Railway to and from Liverpool. It's hard to imagine such 'exotic' connections as you cycle up or down the valley.

Work on the railway line started in 1865 and finished in 1867. As you cycle by you can picture the station-master organising the passengers and trains on the station platforms at Shotley Bridge, Ebchester, Lintz Green  Rowlands Gill and Swalwell. In 1914, passenger use peaked as the trains ran up and down the Valley - but on a more gruesome note, in 1911 Lintz Green station was the scene of the inexplicable murder of the station-master by an unknown gunman - crime never solved. 

By the 1920's, buses started to take the passengers. Freight fared better, continuing to deliver to collieries, coke-ovens, brickworks, paper-mills, dairy farms and the livestock mart at Blackhill. But even the freight declined after WWII, and in 1963 it all stopped. Little happened until Durham County Council had the foresight to develop it as a country park. Easier said than done of course, as the track-bed was host to tenacious gorse, birch, willow and pine and it took some clearing. The viaducts and bridges were repaired and the track-bed has now become an excellent Tyneside alternative finishing section to the C2C route.

Its a good ash surface now so cycling is good most of the year, and the only break in the cycle path is at Rowlands Gill where you need to negotiate a very short section of roadside path before rejoining.

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