Join us for an epic 49-mile cycling adventure across three of County Durham’s most scenic railway trails! 🚆✨
In this ride, we link together:
The Lanchester Valley Way – a peaceful route through woodland and open countryside following the old Consett to Durham railway line.
The Bishop Auckland to Durham Railway Path – a rolling trail packed with history, sweeping views, and classic North East landscapes.
The Auckland Way – a tranquil finish through green valleys and quiet paths into Bishop Auckland before we loop back to the Bishop Auckland to Durham railway Path and head back to Consett.
Along the way, we tackle everything from gravel tracks to smooth tarmac, enjoy stunning views, and explore charming villages along the former railways that once powered the region.
Whether you’re a local rider looking for your next route or planning a cycling trip in the North East, this video has everything you need — route tips, highlights, and a full GPX link below!
📍 Route Distance: 49 miles
⛰️ Terrain: Mixed gravel & tarmac
🚲 Difficulty: Moderate
🗺️ Route Links & GPX: https://www.komoot.com/tour/2532296253?share_token=aQBaDbE4Hdd1FnO8nG1XlaD4lMSuO7dTuKPzqQWEP9DnF8wHz0&ref=wtd
👍 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and drop a comment if you’ve ridden these trails — or suggest where we should ride next in County Durham.
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Oh, the rain’s here. We got about 13 miles left. It’s quarters up. Hi, good morning. Welcome back to the channel. Are we Lisa this morning? And we are in concept County Durham, North Thumberland. One of the two, is it? I’m not sure which one it is. I’ve got a treat for you today. We’re not doing one. We’re not doing two. We’re doing three old railways in a 46 mile ride. Majority of it off-road. So, we’ve got the Lanchester Valley Railway first, which is that way. That’s where we’re going. Look. And our beautiful National Cycle Network finger post sign to start. So, got the Manchester Valley down to Durham. From there, we’ve got the railway that used to go from Durham to Bishop Oakland. We’ve got short stretch Bishop Oakland to some metop. What’s it called? I forgot what it’s called. Well, I’ll tell you when we get nearer cuz I’ll go over each line as we get nearer and then we’re going to head up through a country park and pick back up the Bishop Oakland to Durham line. So, yeah, 46 miles, couple of thousand feet of climbing, I think, today. It’s a lumpy one. It’s quite hilly around here. So, yeah, let’s crack on. Oh, so this is the VA Lchester Valley Railway open in the mid 1800s. I think it was close to passengers in the late30s. 36 to 39. Not sure if the trains would have gone uphill. These uh this railway was built when the demand for iron ore increased in the area. There you go. Look at that beauty. Just gives you a a hint of what used to be here. Look, that’s a beasty. That isn’t it? Got a bit of rail down. Look where it used to be. So, we’re on the Concert Steelworks Heritage Trail at the minute, coming out of Concert. We’re not actually on the Lancaster Lancaster Way just yet. Lchester Valley Railway. So, yeah. Look at that. It’s huge. Massive. Yeah. And has a Billy bonus cuz we’re starting to collect them, aren’t we, love? Yeah, you are. Yeah. Millennium finger post. So, there’s a big interactive map of these. We’re on route seven. Look, at the moment. Um, and the map tells you if they’ve been painted, if they need painting, shows you where they are. There’s a picture of them as well. So, it’s quite cool. There’s over a thousand. So, we’re going to try and bag them. Slow time. Might take a good number of years, I think, won’t it? Probably. But I think it’s cool to see, especially when they’ve been painted and they look quite nice. So yeah, let’s crack on. We’re heading Lchester Durham. So down that way I think it down. Is it steep? No. Let’s go. Okay. Yep. Right. So this is the start of the Lanchester Valley Railway Lit Junction. The first bit we were on coming out of concept was the heritage trail which is all farmer steel work sites. So this is the Lchester Valley Railway. Now Lid Junction is where that starts. A lot of car park just less than half a mile further back on the trail where you could park if you didn’t want to park in concept. And already we’re into lovely rolling countryside. Oh yeah, look at this. Awesome. We’re about 11 12 miles to Durham from here. 12. I think the trail is 12 mi long and then there’s a very short little stretch to join up to the the one that goes down to Bishop Oakland. The old railway nice, isn’t it? Oh, this beautiful old bridge. Lovely. I believe there’s some platforms on this one. First to see and I don’t know then it’s definitely a station building that so this is our first platform here. Look all the way along. Don’t know if that there is an old station building, but it’s definitely a station. So, yeah, it’s cool. See, it’s a lovely line. This fact, there’s a little info board down there. I’ll leave you on. We’ll have a look at again. I’m dropping down to the road. So, there must have been a bridge here. Okay. [Applause] So, we’re at Nitsley. So, I’m going to guess must be a Nitsley station. I’ll see if I can find a picture. Which station? Nitsley. So, 3 miles to Lchester. And I believe there is still a building and a platform there. Yeah, this love with this very picturesque. You know what I like about this area? It’s quiet. Never crazy busy up here in the northeast. We’re staying on a lovely campsite about 4 miles out of concept just off the A68. Really expensive either right here to Derwent Reservoir. Not the Darishy one, but the northeast one. [Music] Tell you what, the scenery. Look at that. It’s absolutely stunning. So just after that, what was it called? Nightly nightly. Nitsley something. Nitly station or the old side, we come off the the old track bed for a while. I’m guessing the farmer wanted his land back. But it takes you down these little gravel tracks and quiet one little lane we’ve come down. It takes so far. It’s so quiet. But yeah, I think we are heading back to the old track bed now. But yeah, it’s absolutely beautiful. Look at that. Stunning. Right, crack on. Yeah, we’re definitely back on the track bed now. We’re on a quite a high bank actually. I say good 50 foot up down to the left and the ground comes down to us on the right. First bridge. Look, mile and a half to Lchester. Now there’s me. I just said I think it’s a solo actually on him. [Music] I’m just saying not seen other cyclist one. Oh, that’s lovely. Oh, this is a lovely trail. here. Yeah. You go out many benches, do they? But I mean, look at that one. Wow. Oh, I tell you what, it reminds me a little bit trail views over to the high peak on the hill. It’s quite narrow like the trail as well. Yeah. and slightly downhill, which means we’re going to be uphill coming by. [Music] [Music] very much. Cheers. Enjoy day. [Music] So this is Lanchester Valley old station. See the platform there? Look, and there is an old station building which I don’t think you’ll see too much of. I’ll take a picture. It’s private residence. So, it’s always nice to respect people’s privacy, I think. You know, would you like it if people came to your house and took pictures all the time? Not that they’re going to, you know, take pictures of your average house, but when it’s something like that, [Music] only had back break cuz I’d got me phone in me hand. Oh, to we came through there, didn’t we? Hey, we came through to So, yeah, but it’s 8 miles away. Come on. Do me hair. Ah. Oh, look at this beauty. Take a peeky from the side. Oh, this back wheel’s got no grip. [Music] Right, onwards. Right, so that’s Lchester. We’ve just come through. Nice little place, weren’t it? Yeah. What we saw of it, it looks really nice. Yeah. So, the old station building and platform. Jesus Christ. Oh, I have to run down there. There’s a lot of bridges missing on here where they must have. It’s easier to knock them down. I’m guessing they weren’t particularly pretty, but just seems strange, doesn’t it? Just to destroy them all. I’ve enjoyed this one. What do you reckon? Yeah, it’s nice. Well, it’s a bit more You can’t just keep pedaling like you can on some old railway lines cuz there’s a lot of stopping and starting and up and down and Yeah. where they’ve removed the bridges. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it’s a bit lumpier, ain’t it? Rolling like gorgeous countryside. Yeah, I like it. It reminds me a bit of like the pip trail. Uh yeah, just cuz it’s lumpy. Yeah, and it’s got a lot of coming to roads to cross roads and stuff like that. Yeah. Your easy gears, love. Okay, it’s clear. Oh, cafe. You want a brew? Uh, if you want. Yeah, let’s have a brew. There you go. The Field and Foder Cafe. It is. Let’s grab a brew ski. The block in my mind just says we can’t do this. [Music] [Music] Yeah, this was one of the first railways that Northeast Railway built 18. [Music] [Music] We’re a few miles from Bishop Oakland now. Got a couple of patches of urban setting like through parks. We’re still part of the old railway box has been built over the years and then now we’re back on railway. See that fence just to the left there? That’s the old original fence line, boundary line, old steel fencing or cast iron. The old railway. Yeah, fencing. The old fence in there. Look, the railway. [Music] It’s weird, is it? cuz we went very urban. Now it’s gone very [Music] long. Yeah. [Music] So that there was the station master’s house. I don’t actually know where we are. Just gone through Willard’s Willard Willington was further up, weren’t it? Where there was a co-op, by the way. Bangs right next to the trail. Yeah, that’s the old station myself. It does feel like this used to be a a station here, but I couldn’t see any sign of a platform or anything. Yeah, in there as well. Yeah. Cool, that is it. Right, let’s crack on. So that there is the end of that Bishop Oakland way just outside Bishop Oakland now. So we’ve got a decision to make whether Lisa wants to go up and over a couple of hills, do the Spennymore railway and then through the country park and then we’ll pick this trail back up just a bit further north of Willington. So what you thinking? I’ll do whatever you want to do. She’ll do whatever. All right, follow me then. Looking nice. I’m not sure if we’re on a cycle here. I don’t think we are. We’re going to go on this road now. Going round to right. It’s not busy, is it? It’s quite nice there, is it? That steep. Yeah. Nice, isn’t it? No, we can’t. Just checked. We can eat. Well, we not got far to go and then we’re on railway. This is the Oakland Way which goes up to Spennymore. I think it’s only about 4 miles. We’ve just come through that little tunnel there. Look. So, yeah, I think it’s three or four miles along this to Spennymore. Bishop Balkan was quite nice. The marketplace and stuff was lovely. And then we just did a.7 of a mile climb. Fairly busy road, but you go on the path. It’s not too bad. So yeah. So we’re we’re on this now. Once we get to the end of this, just before spending more, we’re going to ride up through a country park and then pick up the Bishop Oakland to Durham Trail again. Yeah. put you back on the bike and we’ll get going. Thank you very much. Have a good walk. And a nice old bridge. Two bridges. Yeah. [Music] Oh, yeah. [Music] Oh, this one’s more a tunnel, isn’t it? [Music] There’s another bridge here. Yeah. [Music] [Music] [Music] Oh yeah. Aha, a platform. [Music] Yeah, this is buyers green station or what was buyers green station. Buyers green. Yeah. Right. So that’s the Oakland way done. And then so we had to do two climbs really to take that in and then a big long descent. And the roads weren’t too bad, were they? So I think that was worth it. It was nice. We’re back on the Bishop Oakland Doran line again now. Heading north. The sun’s gone. The clouds come over and it’s quite quiet behind us. So, we’re hoping we can outrun it. Uh, still got a slight headwind though, but never mind. So, yeah, but that a way was lovely. Five or six old bridges and a couple we went over. So, yeah, I really enjoyed that one actually. I think it was worth the the detour. It went long, four or five miles, I think, but I think it was definitely worth it. So yeah, let’s crack on and see. Well, I think we’re going to get wet. See how little we can uh catch. There you go. We’re at Broom Park, Durham, which is where the two railways intersect. 12 mile back to Lut Junction. Oh, the rain’s here. We got about 13 miles left. It’s caught us up, but never mind. And I’ve just been chatting to a lovely guy called Matthew who’s just been on a 5-day bike packing trip from home, Chesterly Street, all around Barnard Castle, has given us some tips for some nice old railway trails we can ride. So, we might be coming back up here. So, if you’re watching, Matthew, nice chatting to you. Thank you for the tips. Right, let’s crack on and get wet. of the old double bridge look off road cast iron job of this one. So just in Lanchester again and uh the old station building is just up this hill. There’s a cafe there. Look. So just where you cross the road in Lanchester. Serendipity Cafe. It looks like it’s closed at the minute, but if you want to do cafe on route, you’re probably better off in the morning. So there’s the Manchester or Manchester station. Look, there’s the house. I haven’t show you too much cuz it’s someone’s private property now. But huge platform and then would have been a bridge where we’ve just come up. Yeah, it’s cool. All right, onwards. [Music] [Music] [Music] That is cool, isn’t it? The house of the railway station. [Music] Yeah. Right. So we just had to come off the track and I remember reading now that the cutting was infilled. So from the very first station we at this morning I want to say nightly but I don’t think it is something like that be a K. I don’t know. Anyway, the cutting was infilled there. So the cutting would have been right down the bottom of them fields over there. So you’ve just got to climb up, come along this very quiet little road which is NCN, cross it onto gravel path, round the field and you drop back down to the track bed. It’s not too bad. We’ve we’ve got about 3 or 4 miles left now to sunset. Rain’s almost eased off. Still a bit black over there. Look. But luckily where we’re going, it’s quite nice. So, it weren’t too heavy and we got a bit wet, but it’s not cold. So, happy days. It was Nitsley station. That’s what we just come past just there. Look platform. It’s quite a long one. It’s on the left. Just where them houses are. Big one. It one of the houses was the old station building. Private residence. So quite a high fence. Yeah, it’s lovely. Now look, the sun’s coming out. should dry me jacket which is wet. I’m about 1.7 milesi from Legots Junction which is where the big big old steel slag drum was on rails on the carriage and then we got a couple of miles into concept from there. So let’s crack on. Oh, we’ve got another Millennium Finger post sign up here that I missed earlier to bag as well. So we’ll get that one on the way. What we seeing today about four, I think. So, yeah, four, I think. Let’s go. a quick. So, this is the where the old Steelworks was, Concert Steelworks. Look, and they’ve put up a little thing. There’s an info board and then there’s this sort of memorial to it on the side where it was was lad huge as well. Look, not sure where we are in relation to that. Yeah, it’s massive. I can see the railway coming in. I’m guessing somewhere this is part of where we’ve been going. Yeah. Was massive, weren’t it? Ah, right. So, I think in relation to that so that’s where we are. So, that was all over there. Huge. Just reading that notice board there. When it closed in 1980, the unemployment rate in the town instantly went to double the national average pretty much overnight. Mad. Yeah. Well, at least they done something with it, eh? Right. So, we’re back where we started this morning now. We’ve done 49 miles. 549 miles on a 46 mile route. Anyway, we’ve done 49 miles. We didn’t deviate off it, did we? Strange. Anyway, we done 49 miles. That was really good. What do you think to the which was your favorite of the three? So, we did the Lancaster Valley Railway, the uh Bishop Oakland Durham Railway, and then the Oakland Way over to that place beginning with S. I forgot already. is uh can’t remember. Can’t remember that one. The last one we did when we had to climb out Bishop Oakland and up the road to get to it. So I think they were all good, weren’t they? Yeah, they were. I think the third one was my So at least preferred the short one which was only It weren’t very far. Fiveish miles, we think. Had some lovely bridges on it, didn’t it? The bridges on all of them were really nice. Very ornate. They weren’t blue brick or anything, but proper stone. They were lovely. But I think that’s cuz the lines were so old. early 1830s, 1850s they were built. I quite like the Lanchester one myself. I mean, if they’d have left all the bridges in so you didn’t have to keep dropping down across a road and climb back up, it’d be perfect. But it was still lovely, weren’t it? It was. And then the Oakland to Durham one, which was the oldest one. That was one of the first ones that the Northeast Railway built. Felt a bit Don’t know. It was a bit strange that one, weren’t it? Cuz it went through an urban area and it had been developed in places. So you were on a bike path rather than a old railway in places. But it was still nice, weren’t it? But yeah, I’ll put the roots up. It was pretty good. Um, we got another one planned tomorrow from concert as well heading out towards Washington. So that probably the video after this one. Yeah, generally quite good, weren’t it? Yeah, wasn’t sure what to expect when we set off this morning. Yeah, but they they were good and it didn’t rain as didn’t rain as bad as it was forecast, so that was quite nice. So yeah, thanks for watching. I’m Rob. That’s Lisa Bike Ventures. See you on the next one. Cheers. Thank you very much. [Music]