Beamish Woods Circular Walk
Start Beamish Burn Picnic Area, near Beamish Hall.
Grid reference 207 548 OS Landranger Map No.88
Directions
Leave the car park and turn right and walk along the road towards the Hall.At Coppy Lane turn left and continue for about 1 mile before joining the road near the Causey Arch Inn. Views of Stanley Church can be seen on your left. As you approach Park Head Farm take the narrow path to the right of the farmyard entrance.
Continue until you reach Beamish Burn Road where you turn left, then almost immediately, right, to cross the fields by the public footpath. Cross the A6076 and enter Causey Arch Picnic Area through a tunnel.
Follow the signs to the Arch through the gorge, crossing the Burn three times by wooden bridges. The arch was built in 1725 and is the oldest surviving single span railway bridge in the world. Turn right and go through the gate over the railway track. The Tanfield Railway, which is the oldest existing railway, runs between Sunniside and East Tanfield.
After crossing and recrossing the track a path takes you to the left up a flight of steps past a railway signal. Continue and turn left through a field to reach the main road. Turn right, cross the road and walk along the pavement until you see the footpath sign on your left. This is Boghouse Lane, an ancient track which formed the boundary between the Shafto and Clavering Estates. The track ends at Beamishburn Road. Cross the road and enter Carrickshill Wood through a doorway in the wall to what was once a deer park.
To return to your starting place at Beamish Burn turn left when you reach a fork in the path. Pass a seat and cross the footbridge to return to the car park.
Map of Route
This walk is one of a series included in "More Country Walks in County Durham" (see "countryside publications").
