Most people would drive along North Road in Darlington without giving it a second thought.

But this ordinary-looking road has an extraordinary story.

In this video, I explore the hidden history of North Road, from the 80,000-year-old Bulmer Stone and the Great North Road, to the meeting between George Stephenson and Edward Pease that helped shape the future of the railway. Along the way, I visit one of Darlington’s oldest pubs, the site of the world’s first passenger railway station at Hopetown, and finish at Skerne Bridge, the oldest railway bridge in the world still carrying trains.

Sometimes the biggest stories are hiding in the most ordinary places.

👍 If you enjoyed this walk around my hometown, please hit the Like button and subscribe for more travel and local history videos.

I am an older backpacker travelling the world proving that backpacking is not just for the younger generation.

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#Darlington #History #Railways #CountyDurham #Travel

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25 Comments

  1. hi Stu.. how are you.. good to see you exploring your hometown.. I am curious how hot is England during heatwave? is that really hotter than some city in Indonesia?

  2. And just think Stu, in a hundred years time tourists to Darlo will not only be visiting the Bulmer Stone and the train station, they'll be checking out the blue plaque outside your house, home of the youtube legend OlderBackpacker 🙂

  3. I am really enjoying these videos of your home area 👌. It looks like other people are as well. It is really nice to see and learn the history of these places and buildings. Too bad that boulder was moved back like that. But I can understand why.

  4. You're a great (his)story teller, Stu!. You've put your beautiful & historical Darlington town on the map for many to see! Did not know that the Skerne Bridge, built in 1825 to carry passengers across the river Skerne, is the birthplace of the modern railway! I love the history of the Great North Road (or Gate), connecting London to Edinburgh through Darlington.

  5. The actual logistics of horse changing at coaching inns and private ownership of coaches have begun to fascinate me. There's a little bit of history on the web but in practice how it was done is intriguing. For example how did you avoid getting four nags in exchange for your four horses. How did you retrieve your own horses as distinct from hired ones. How did you even know if horses would be available.
    Great video as always

  6. Good afternoon stu I still follow you trips across the world as I a retired man and go to Thailand a lot but now travel ins has got out of reach or none at all I was wondering if you cover yourself with that thank you keep up the good work

  7. Lovely video Stu! Walked by all those places many times! Sad to see the graffiti on the skerne bridge.😥 Thanks for all the great Darlo history lessons. I’ve really grown to love it as an American from my many visits!

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  9. The area you were in in the video is actually Northgate, its only known as North Road from when you pass under the railway bridge 14.30 on your video. If you know darlington, you will know that area is crime central hence the all the police activity

  10. Is the glacier stone still in south park ,years since i have been , Darlo has changed so much since i was a kid ,i was born and bred in newton aycliffe and this place has changed so much .Wish i could have my life over again i would be away from this country in a flash, go abroad to meet more brits.

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