County Durham hotels accommodation, attractions
and travel information
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MAIN TOWNS IN County Durham - Barnard Castle Beamish Billingham
Bishop Auckland Chester-le-Street Consett Crook Darlington Durham
Guisborough Hartlepool Hurworth on Tees Middlesbrough Newton
Aycliffe Peterlee Sedgefield Shildon Spennymoor Stanley Stockton
on Tees Willington. |
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Barnard Castle. Barnard Castle is a historic market town, located
on the Durham side of the River Tees on the A67. It is about
16 miles west of Darlington and 14 miles southwest of Bishop
Auckland. Horsemarket, Galgate, Bridgegate, Newgate and Thorngate
are the main streets of Barnard Castle and are lined by beautiful
stone built houses, which give Barnard Castle its typical `Dales
town' appearance. Barnard Castle is the perfect base to visit
picturesque Teesdale.
Book : Barnard Castle and Surrounding Area (Landranger Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Barnard
Castle.
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Beamish. Beamish is a village in County Durham, situated
to the north east of Stanley. It is located on the A693, just
3 miles west of junction 63 of the A1(M). It is about 8 miles
south of Newcastle and 14 miles north of Durham. Beamish is home
to Beamish Museum, an open air museum seeking to replicate a
northern town of the early 20th century. Book : Street Atlas: County Durham and Teeside. |
More information and
accommodation : Beamish.
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Billingham. Billingham is a town on the north bank of the Tees,
about 3 miles north of both Middlesbrough and Stockton. It is
located just off the A19, about 8 miles south of Hartlepool and
about 35 miles from Newcastle on Tyne. Billingham is best known
as the site of the huge petro-chemical works of ICI, it also
has ancient origins and its church has an Anglo-Saxon tower dating
from about 1000 AD. Book:
Billingham and Tees Mouth (Pathfinder Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Billingham.
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Bishop Auckland. Bishop Auckland is situated at the confluence of
the River Wear and the River Gaunless and has been the site of
an important market since medieval times. It is located on the
A688, about 7 miles west of Junction 60 of the A1(M). It is 10
miles northwest of Darlington and 12 miles northeast of Barnard
Castle. The main street in Bishop Auckland is called Watling
Road and follows the course of the Roman Dere street, the Roman
Road between York and the Roman Wall at Corbridge. Book: Bishop Auckland: Spennymoor
and Newtown (Explorer Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Bishop
Auckland.
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Chester-le-Street. Chester-le-Street is situated in the northern part
of County Durham, between Durham City and Gateshead. It is located
on the A167, about 1 mile south of Junction 63 of the A1(M).
Durham is about 5 miles to the south and Gateshead is about 10
miles to the north. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the coal
industry dominated Chester-le-Street. Book: Chester-le-Street, Peterlee, Seaham, Stanley,
Crook, Consett (Streetmaster Street Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Chester-le-Street.
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Consett. Consett is a town in northwest County Durham, on
the edge of the Pennines, on the banks of the River Derwent.
It is located on the A692, just inside the border with Northumberland.
Stanley is 6 miles to the east and Durham is about 14 miles to
the southeast. Once known as `Berry Edge', Consett began to grow
after the finding of the Consett Iron and Steel works here in
1837. The works dominated the local skyline until their closure
in 1980. Book: Chester-le-Street,
Peterlee, Seaham, Stanley, Crook, Consett (Streetmaster Street
Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Consett.
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Crook. Referred to as the 'Gateway to Weardale', Crook
sits on the main route from Durham and the East coast and the
picturesque upper reaches of the River Wear. It is located on
the A689, about 10 miles southwest of Durham with Bishop Auckland
about 5 miles to the south. Once surrounded by over 20 coal mines,
Crook used to be one of the main towns in the Durham Coalfield. Book: Chester-le-Street, Peterlee,
Seaham, Stanley, Crook, Consett (Streetmaster Street Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Crook.
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Darlington. Darlington lies on the A167, just 2 miles off Junction
58 of the A1(M). Newton Aycliffe is about 6 miles to the north
and Barnard castle is about 16 miles to the west. Darlington's
attractions include the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum
and David Mach's exciting public sculpture, Train, at Morton
Park. Book: Middlesbrough,
Darlington and Hartlepool (Landranger Maps) by Ordnance Survey. |
More information and
accommodation : Darlington.
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Durham. Durham is a beautiful city, home to the magnificent
Norman cathedral, Durham university and Durham Castle. The city
is located on the A167, about 2 miles west of Junction 62 of
the A1(M). Chester le Street is about 6 miles to the north, Bishop
Auckland is about 10 miles to the south and Consett is about
12 miles to the west. The massive Cathedral is widely acclaimed
as one of the world's finest buildings. Durham has a medieval
layout with narrow winding streets and a wide range of shops. Book : Newcastle Upon Tyne, Durham
and Sunderland (Landranger Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Durham.
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Guisborough (Yorkshire). Guisborough, the gateway to the North Yorkshire
Moors, is a small historic market town nestling on the edge of
the Moors. It is located on the A171, just 9 miles southeast
of Middlesbrough and 21 miles across the moors to Whitby. A nearby
large town is Middlesbrough. Guisborough is an ancient market
town and has market days on Thursdays and Saturdays, and a busy
shopping centre with a number of specialist shops. Book : Around Guisborough (Archive
Photographs: Images of England) |
More information and
accommodation : Guisborough.
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Hartlepool. Hartlepool is a coastal town on Tees Bay at the
mouth of the river Tees, just north of Middlesbrough. Hartlepool
is located on the A179, Peterlee is about 6 miles to the north
and Middlesbrough is about 8 miles to the south. Present Hartlepool
was created in the 1960's by the amalgamation of two neighbouring
towns: the old headland town of "Hartlepool" and the
Victorian town of "West Hartlepool". Recently Hartlepool
has been undergoing a renaissance as new life and investment
has been breathed into the old docks area. Book: Middlesbrough and Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees
and Redcar (Explorer Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Hartlepool.
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Hurworth on Tees. Hurworth-on-Tees is a small village set on the north
side of the River Tees, in County Durham. It is situated about
5 miles south of Darlington, next to the meeting point of the
River Skerne and River Tees. Hurworth on Tees is about 5 miles
east of Junction 57 of the A1(M). Hurworth was noted for its
linen industry, in 1830 there were one hundred and twenty hand
loom weavers, mostly at the east end of the village. Book : Street Atlas: County Durham
and Teeside. |
More information and
accommodation : Hurworth
on Tees.
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Middlesbrough (Cleveland). Middlesbrough, on the south bank of the Tees estuary,
was a small fishing village before a group of Quakers associated
with the Stockton & Darlington Railway decided to turn it
into a town in 1829. By 1830 this famous line had been extended
to Middlesbrough, making the rapid expansion of the town and
port inevitable. Middlesbrough is located on the A19, 4 miles
east of Stockton on Tees, 16 miles from Darlington and 9 miles
from Hartlepool. Photo
: Middlesbrough FC |
More information and
accommodation : Middlesbrough.
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Newton Aycliffe. Newton Aycliffe was founded in 1947, the oldest
new town in the north of England. Newton Aycliffe is located
on the A167, about 2 miles north of Junction 59 of the A1(M).
It is 5 miles north of Darlington, 13 miles west of Durham and
30 miles south of Newcastle. The name "Newton Aycliffe"
was derived from the oak trees which grew in forests in early
times (Acle and Yackley were the old names). Book : Darlington, Newton Aycliffe, Barnard Castle
(Streetmaster Street Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Newton
Aycliffe.
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Peterlee. Peterlee is a new town in County Durham. Founded
in 1948, the town is named after Peter Lee, a prominent local
miner and the town originally mostly housed coal miners. It is
located on the A19, about 8 miles north of Hartlepool and 10
miles south of Sunderland. Peterlee is strategically located
near the coast of East Durham, with easy access to other centres
of the North East. Book:
Chester-le-Street, Peterlee, Seaham, Stanley, Crook, Consett
(Streetmaster Street Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Peterlee.
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Sedgefield. Sedgefield is a town in the borough of Sedgefield
in County Durham. It is located on the A689, about 2 miles east
of Junction 60 of the A1(M). Newton Aycliffe is about 7 miles
to the west, Darlington is about 9 miles to the south and Hartlepool
is about 12 miles to the east. St Edmund church in Sedgefield
is noted for its ornate 17th century Cosin woodwork, unique to
County Durham. Sedgefield is also home to the Sedgefield Racecourse,
a regional horseracing venue.
Book: Bishop Auckland. Spennymoor, Newtown Aycliffe, Sedgefield
& Crook: Explorer Map 305 (Explorer Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Sedgefield.
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Shildon. Shildon is a small town in southwest Durham located
on the A6072. It is about 12 miles south of Durham, about 2 miles
west of Newton Aycliffe and 2 miles southeast of Bishop Auckland.
Shildon is very much a product of the industrial age and is proud
of its railway heritage. The town can trace its links with the
railways back to the early 1800s. It was here that George Stephenson’s
‘Locomotion’ was first placed on the rails for the
inaugural run of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and also
here that Timothy Hackworth built most of his remarkable locomotives
at the Soho Engine Works.
Book : Bishop Auckland/Newton Aycliffe/Shildon/Barnard Castle
(Streetmaster Street Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Shildon.
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Spennymoor. The town of Spennymoor, which includes the villages
of Byers Green, Kirk Merrington, Middlestone Moor and Tudhoe,
is delightfully situated on high land above the south side of
the Wear Valley between the City of Durham and Bishop Auckland.
Spennymoor is about 4 miles west of Junction 61 of the A1(M).
It is about 5 miles south of Durham, 6 miles north of Newton
Aycliffe and about 6 miles east of Crook. .Since the end of World
War II there have been a great many changes in the town. Coal
mining has ceased and the industry of the town has developed
on three industrial estates to provide a more diverse industrial
base than before. Book:
Bishop Auckland: Spennymoor and Newtown (Explorer Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Spennymoor.
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Stanley. Stanley is a former mining town in County Durham,
centred on a hill top between Chester-le-Street and Consett.
Stanley is about 4 miles west of Junction 63 of the A1(M), located
on the A693. It is about 5 miles east of Consett, 5 miles west
of Chester le Street and 9 miles south of Newcastle upon Tyne.
One of the worst coal mining disasters in British history took
place in Stanley at West Stanley Colliery on February 16, 1909
when over 160 people were killed in the Burns Pit Disaster. A
memorial stands in the town.
Book: Chester-le-Street, Peterlee, Seaham, Stanley, Crook, Consett
(Streetmaster Street Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Stanley.
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Stockton on Tees. Stockton-on-Tees Durham lies opposite Middlesbrough,
on the northern bank of the River Tees, 10 miles from its North
Sea mouth. Stockton on Tees is on the A 66, about 4 miles west
of Middlesbrough. Stockton grew up around the castle of the bishops
of Durham, and was originally a market town for the surrounding
agricultural area. The main impetus came in 1825 when the town
was linked to the Durham coalfield by the Stockton and Darlington
Railway. Book: Middlesbrough
and Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees and Redcar (Explorer Maps). |
More information and
accommodation : Stockton
on Tees.
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Willington. Willington is a small town straddling the main route
from Durham City to Weardale, and was originally a settlement
on the old roman road of Dere Street. Willington is located on
the A690, about 8 miles south of Durham and 3 miles east of Crook.
Willington is about 8 miles west of junction 61 of the A1(M).
It expanded in the 19th century as it became a pit village and
the landmark church of St. Stephen's grew to accommodate the
growing population. Now bell ringers come from all over the UK
to ring the steel bells, considered to be one of only six sets
in Britain. Book : Street
Atlas: County Durham and Teeside. |
More information and
accommodation : Willington.
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County Durham Attractions |
