County Durham: Sunderland Bridge and the River Wear

*** IMPORTANT - Due to weather related damage to the original route, this event has been changed to a walk of similar length closer to Durham - those signed up on 14th Jan have been informed by email and the text below now refers to this new event. *****

County Durham : Durham and the River Wear trail

We will instead walk a couple of miles away exploring the River Wear in and outside of Durham City. We'll start off in the North West of Durham and work our way round the beautiful riverside path, taking in the glories of Durham Castle and Durham Cathedral and the riverside mills. We'll then head out of the city with the Wear to the east beyond the rowing clubs and a much more rural feel. We'll turn back at Shincliffe Bridge and leave the river to head up through the woods and explore Maiden Castle (a hill which held an Iron Age fort), before wriggling our way back for an afternoon coffee at the 1860 bar next to Durham Amateur Rowing Club (I'm not promising any hunky rowers, but who knows, you may be lucky). We'll complete our 7.5 mile circuit along the opposite bank of the city before popping back up magically onto Silver Street and working our way to either a home, or a pub for the hardy.

DIFFICULTY AND EQUIPMENT

The new route is 7.5 miles long and largely flat except for a few undulations on the riverside, and the climb up to Maiden Castle.  It is largely made path, other than around Maiden Castle, which is compacted earth and is presently (14th Jan) dry. Walking boots/shoes still strongly recommended as there are a few patches of mud on the riverside path, and for more grip going up the hills. Bring water and a coffee flask and some packed lunch - we'll make a stop to eat packed lunches, there won't be opportunity to buy lunch once we've set off.

On the ODL difficulty scale I would still class it as Moderate difficulty, due to the few gradients and the length. Doggy friends remain welcome but will need to be on leads on the paths within the town. 

ANY QUESTIONS

I'm looking forward to seeing you all and having a lovely day out together. Apologies that the original route can't go ahead but I've tried out this new route today and in the winter sunshine, it was fab! And the coffee stop was great. Get in touch via the site if you've any questions.

IMPORTANT! - Participation Statement

You MUST complete the Participation Statement,  here, in addition to booking your event space before attending an OutdoorLads event. You only need to complete this participation once, not for each event. 

All photos were taken by the co-leader (ncl_toby) on a previous walk in the area. Outdoorlads has permission to use them. The photos refer to the original event, rather than the amended route.