Deerness Valley Railway Path overall cycle route rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Deerness Valley Railway Path is another old railway line in County Durham that was repurposed as a traffic-free cycling and walking trail, after the railway closed in the mid sixties. The path runs for 8.5 miles between Broompark near Durham, westwards to Crook.
At Broompark it links to the railway paths running north west to Consett and south west to Bishop Auckland, as well as NCN14 into Durham and eastwards. The route is a gentle gradient from east to west which gets a little steeper for the last half. The route is well signed and easy to follow
Most of the information in this guide is by Gary Dawes, with images from Geograph.
Surface of the Deerness Valley Railway Path
The path is a mix of hard compacted stone with a grit surface and some tarmac sections. The path is 2 to 3 metres wide for most of the route.
Bikes
The route is designed as a multi use access trail, and as a result the whole route can be ridden on most kinds of cycle, including trikes, tandems and cargo bikes.
Toilets & Refreshments
The route passes various villages including Bearpark, Ushaw Moor and Esh Winning, which have various amenities including shops, cafés, and toilets
Points of Interest
The route passes several old mining villages but there are few signs of that industry now and the route is a scenic ride though meadows and mature woodland.
Routes in Durham
- Reivers Route – UK Coast To Coast Routes
- C2C – UK Coast to Coast Routes
- Lanchester Valley Railway Path
- Deerness Valley Railway Path cycle route
- The Waskerley Way traffic-free cycle route
- Thorpe Thewles to Ryhope traffic-free cycle route
- Derwent Walk Cycleway
- Two Rivers Cycleway
- Consett & Sunderland Railway Path
- Bowes Railway Path Traffic-free Cycle Route
Barriers
There are no A-frame barriers along the route, although there are some lazy chicane barriers at some of the road crossings.
Ratings
Safety: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hilliness: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Mainly Flat)
Refreshment stops: ⭐⭐⭐
Barriers: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Surface: ⭐⭐⭐
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Forecast for the Deerness Valley Railway Path
What the Deerness Valley Railway Path looks like
Video of the Deerness Valley Railway Path
Getting to the Deerness Valley Railway Path
Durham has a railway station on the east coast main line. Crook is served by local buses, but they are unlikely to a cycle unless it’s a folder. As ever, read my Bikes On Trains guide for useful and helpful tips for taking your bike on the train.
More Routes
To find more routes, click this link.
DayCycle
DayCycle routes are routes can can easily be cycled by most people in a day, or part of a day. Do have a look at all the other DayCycle routes available on WillCycle. Many contain detailed route guides, as well as embedded maps (like the one below).