Northern Strolls

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Northern Strolls NORTHERN STROLLS provides guided walks throughout North East England , and is based in Darlington. Guided walking for your group and friends.

EXPERIENCED WALKING TOUR GUIDE

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Your walk choice on your date! we can plan your day and navigate your walk. Fully qualified, insured, and First Aid certified, we also hold an enhanced DBS, and a Level 2 in Safeguarding & Prevention; as well as a Level 3 Award in Education & Training. Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme
Expedition Assessor and Supervisor. Community walking groups welcome, or why not book one of our scheduled walks? Walking back to fitness and mental health wellbeing, we are trained well-being walk leaders and mental health first aiders. All walks are risk assessed and follow government guidelines for COVID - 19

Ivelet Bridge and its accompanying Coffin Stone are historic, listed landmarks located in Swaledale within the Yorkshire...
16/10/2026

Ivelet Bridge and its accompanying Coffin Stone are historic, listed landmarks located in Swaledale within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Dating back to the late 16th century, the bridge is a highly romanticized, single-span stone packhorse bridge crossing the River Swale.

The Coffin Stone
The flat, oblong stone slab set directly into the grass verge on the north side of the bridge is a Grade II listed medieval Coffin Stone.
Before Muker Church was consecrated in 1580, residents of Upper Swaledale had no local consecrated ground to bury their dead. Bodies had to be carried along a 12-mile track known as the Co**se Way (or Co**se Road) to the Church of St Andrew in Grinton.
Because many poor families could not afford a horse and cart, pallbearers carried the deceased entirely on foot in lightweight wicker baskets or "biers".
Carrying that weight across the rugged Dales landscape was exhausting. The Coffin Stone at Ivelet Bridge provided a designated, flat resting platform where weary bearers could set down their heavy burden without placing the body directly on the wet ground.

Described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "the most romantic of the Swaledale bridges," it features a steeply hu**ed, high-rising single arch built of rubble stone that has never been widened. It holds a Grade II* listing.

The bridge was damaged by a vehicle in 2012 but was fully restored just in time for the Tour de France when the race passed nearby in 2014.
• Pop Culture: The picturesque bridge has been featured on television, notably in the classic BBC series All Creatures Great and Small.

Wynch Bridge and Low force,Teesdale.It is a short and straightforward walk, but one that always feels like an introducti...
14/10/2026

Wynch Bridge and Low force,Teesdale.

It is a short and straightforward walk, but one that always feels like an introduction to the wider landscape of Upper Teesdale.

Bowlees Visitor Centre provides parking, toilets and a café, making it the best starting point for visiting Wynch Bridge and Low Force. Blue badge parking is available close to the front of the building.

The route to the bridge is generally accessible and suitable for most people, with a well maintained path and gradual gradients. There are some slightly rougher patches and a gentle downhill section as you approach the river, but nothing too demanding in normal conditions.

Tramper all terrain mobility vehicles are available to hire from the visitor centre, helping more people access this part of the landscape.

What it feels like to cross Wynch Bridge,
as you step onto the timber deck, you can feel the structure respond. There is a gentle movement beneath your feet, something that becomes more noticeable as you make your way across. Because of its narrow design, the bridge is best crossed one person at a time, which adds to the feeling of being suspended above the river rather than simply walking across it.

Below, the River Tees moves through the rocky gorge, its sound echoing against the stone. Upstream, glimpses of Low Force can often be seen, especially when the water is flowing strongly.

The bridge naturally slows you down. People tend to pause, look around, and take in the view rather than rushing across.

A place shaped by water and history
Wynch Bridge sits in one of the most geologically and historically rich parts of Teesdale.

The River Tees has carved its way through layers of rock here, creating the stepped cascades of Low Force and the deeper gorge that the bridge crosses. This landscape has drawn people for centuries, from miners and workers to modern day walkers and photographers.

The bridge itself reflects that history. Built for function, shaped by the power of the river, and rebuilt over time, it has become part of the character of the area rather than just a crossing point.

Visiting at the best time
Wynch Bridge can be visited at any time of day, but the experience changes depending on when you arrive.

Early mornings are often quiet, with soft light filtering through the trees and fewer people on the path. Evenings, especially as the sun begins to set, bring a calm atmosphere where the sound of the river becomes the main focus.

After rainfall, the River Tees is more powerful, and the views from the bridge become more dramatic as the water moves through the gorge and over Low Force.

Maizebeck Force also spelled Maize Beck Force is a remote waterfall located on Maize Beck, high on the moorland watershe...
12/10/2026

Maizebeck Force also spelled Maize Beck Force is a remote waterfall located on Maize Beck, high on the moorland watershed of Upper Teesdale in Northern England, between Cow Green Reservoir and High Cup Nick.

The waterfall flows over flat slabs of hard whin sill and tumbles down in strong flumes of white spray into a rocky gorge. The word "force" comes from the Old Norse foss, meaning waterfall.

It sits in a remote, boggy, and exposed upland area, often visited by walkers trekking routes between Dufton and Middleton-in-Teesdale near the Pennine Way or High Cup Nick area.

The Strathmore Estate manages fly fishing access along the river, which is noted for wild brown trout.

The upper beck area is also historically tied to the March 1968 Upper Teesdale weather tragedy, which led directly to the formation of the local mountain rescue team.
If you are planning a walk or looking for specific information, let me know:
• Are you looking for a hiking route to the waterfall?
• Do you need parking or grid reference details?

11/10/2026

Kettle Stone is an interesting historical boundary stone located in the North Pennines landscape near Teesdale.

It is situated on the right-hand side of The Stang pass as you travel towards Arkengarthdale on the borderlands spanning Hope Parish and the surrounding moorlands.

Officially documented as a post-medieval boundary stone, dating anywhere between 1540 and 1901.

The stone features unique cultural details, including inscribed initials left behind by historic lead miners who heavily worked the Upper Teesdale area during the 18th and 19th centuries.

If you are looking to explore the area, are you planning a walking route along The Stang, or are you looking for other historic landmarks nearby, like the Butter Stone on Cotherstone moor ask me.

White Force is a remote, narrow upland waterfall tucked away in a quiet corner of Upper Teesdale, County Durham. Unlike ...
11/10/2026

White Force is a remote, narrow upland waterfall tucked away in a quiet corner of Upper Teesdale, County Durham. Unlike its famous and booming neighbour High Force, White Force is a hidden gem that cuts a quiet cascade through the steep-sided limestone and Whin Sill rock of the North Pennines National Landscape (AONB). It is a long, slender ribbon of water rather than a raging torrent, making it a peaceful escape completely free of tourist crowds.

The waterfall is situated in Upper Teesdale, roughly 6 miles from Middleton-in-Teesdale and close to the village of Forest-in-Teesdale. Water feeds down from Cronkley Fell via Black S**e (or Black Ark) over the hard dolerite rock.

White Well is a natural spring that emerges from a sugar limestone outcrop on Cronkley Fell in Upper Teesdale, County Du...
11/10/2026

White Well is a natural spring that emerges from a sugar limestone outcrop on Cronkley Fell in Upper Teesdale, County Durham, England.

The spring bubbles up through sugar limestone—carboniferous limestone that was "baked" and recrystallized into a granular, sugar-like texture by the underground intrusion of the molten dolerite of the Great Whin Sill.
The area around Cronkley Fell and White Well is famous for its rare arctic-alpine and limestone loving flora, such as the spring gentian, which bloom across the exposed limestone bands in spring and early summer.
Would you like information on walking routes to Cronkley Fell, or details on the rare plants and geology of Upper Teesdale

Sleightholme Beck is a scenic watercourse and limestone gorge located in County Durham, near the village of Bowes in the...
11/10/2026

Sleightholme Beck is a scenic watercourse and limestone gorge located in County Durham, near the village of Bowes in the North Pennines. It flows into the River Greta and is known for its dramatic geological features, walks, and wildlife.

Sleightholme Beck Gorge – The Troughs is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), this deep limestone gorge displays layered Carboniferous limestone, sandstone beds, and the historical legacy of the Stanhope-Stainmore delta lobe.
The beck features natural cascades, plunge pools, and drops—including Mill Force and other hidden waterfalls—carved straight through the rock.

The damp, shaded limestone ledges support ferns (such as maidenhair spleenwort and green spleenwort), woodland plants (like wood sorrel and dog's mercury), and pocket woodlands featuring yew trees. Dippers and common sandpipers are frequently spotted along the water.
• Gods Bridge: A famous natural limestone bridge crosses the nearby River Greta close to the becks lower reaches.

The Sleightholme Beck / Bowes Circular Walk is popular hiking route leading visitors past open moorland, old rock formations, Gods Bridge, and down into the rugged gorge sections.

The terrain near the gorge has steep, unguarded edges, slippery rocks, and deep undercut channels. Kayaking or paddling the beck is generally not recommended due to severe undercuts, siphons, and tight limestone slots.

If you are planning a visit, would you like details on a specific walking route or parking and starting points near Bowes?

Two Roman shrines were discovered near Eller Beck in 1945 by a shepherd on Scargill High Moor in County Durham, roughly ...
11/10/2026

Two Roman shrines were discovered near Eller Beck in 1945 by a shepherd on Scargill High Moor in County Durham, roughly 3 miles south of the Roman fort of Bowes. (Lavatrae)

Built about 15 meters apart on the western bank of East Black Syke, a tributary stream flowing into Eller Beck NY 995 106 or NY 9987 1030.

The stone structures housed altars dedicated to Vinotonus an indigenous or local Roman-Celtic god equated with Silvanus, the Roman god of the countryside, woodlands, moorlands, and wild animals.

Erected and dedicated by officers and soldiers of the First Cohort of Thracians (Cohors Primae Thracum), who were garrisoned at the nearby Bowes Roman fort.

The structures were circular/rectangular dry-stone and rubble-faced stone buildings around 6.65 meters in diameter for the main temple. featuring an interior stone bench and a rear altar-stone facing east.

Shortly after their discovery, the site was excavated by archaeologists including Professor Ian Richmond and Mr. F.G. Simpson. The recovered altars, carvings, and artifacts were moved to the Bowes Museum for preservation, and the remaining low structures on the moor have since suffered from stream erosion and flood damage.
Would you like details on how to walk to the site or more information about the artifacts housed at the Bowes Museum.

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