Goldenbackpacker.com

TEESDALE - STAY FOR LESS "££"

RIVER TEES is one of the great Rivers in the North of England, its course starting in a unique glacial uplands DALE & flows East until it reaches the vast chemical & industrial plains of Middlesbrough on Teesside, before reaching the North Sea. GB guides you to the beautiful remote upper reaches of this River, where the farms are all white - washed denoting they belong to a wealthy landlord, & other unique sights.

ACCOMMODATION

Langdon Beck YHA at Forrest in Teesdale ( on B6277 road to Alston, popular with walkers so just ask Bus driver to drop you off at hostel) tele0870 770 5910 Email: langdonbeck@yha.org.uk £10.25 pn in 34 beds, 3x2, 4x4 & 2x6 bedded rooms. Good self - catering facilities & also meals provided, comfy lounge & meeting room, laundry & drying. This is a fab. Hostel in remote location on top of the moors with great views. The hostel promotes "green" policies for energy & refuse & has special programme of activities to join in.

Alston YHA at The Firs, Alston ( on a bank, outside the Village , overlooking the river) tele 0870 770 5668 Email: alston@yha.org.uk £9.50 pn in 30 beds, 2x4, 1x6 & 2x8 bedded rooms. Self - catering kitchen, lounge, laundry & drying. Another character hostel overlooking a river gorge & town with cobbled streets. The town is usually cut off in the winter months by snow.

FOOD for your self - catering needs to be stocked up before the Langdon hostel but for Alston the local Co operative Store in the centre will cater for your needs as will the hostel itself for tea, milk etc.

TRAVELLING AROUND this region starts & ends in the North Town of Darlington (the birth place of the first passenger railway in 1825) still on main UK Rail & Road links. Your journey will continue by local bus services, first to Barnard Castle ( yes! a Castle, built around 1066 where a Roman road crossed the Tees) then onto Forest in Teesdale (when the true remoteness of the area is experienced) then to Alston ( the highest Market Town in England). Returning on the top road & Shildon (where the first rail tracks were laid to take coal to Darlington) where the journey ends.

"FREE" SIGHTS TO SEE

1. Darlington, Market - indoor each day, outside stalls on Wed/ Sat in Town Centre cobbled square
2. Barnard Cas. Buttercross - 1774 octagonal Town Hall, Court, Market also Jail, sold butter & eggs
3. Teesdale, High Force Waterfall - walk the track & be amazed at these impressive Falls, go on top
4. Teesdale, Cow Green Reservoir - this vast man made water feature is a tonic, walk over the dam
5. Teesdale, Cauldron Snout Waterfall - dam outflow causes a thundering torrent & starts the Tees
6. Teesdale, Pennine Way- this great UK Walk passes nearby so have an evening stroll to get the feel
7. Teesdale, Unique Flora - you may find the rare Spring Gentian & Globe flowers on your walks
8. Alston, Market Place - centre of town stands the Market Cross from 1765 & memorial fountain
9. Alston, Village Walk - steep cobbled main street climbs passed old houses with outside staircases
10. Shildon, Timothy Hackworth Mus. - this great Engineer established the first locomotive works

CHARGE SIGHTS NOT TO MISS

1. Darlington, Railway Museum - George Stevenson's "Locomotion" pulled the first 1825 carraiges
2. Barnard Castle, Bowes Museum - 1892local family. El Greco, Goya, Canal & famous Silver Swan
3. Alston, South Tynedal Railway - the sounds & smells of steam engines on this narrow gauge track
4. Alston, Nenthead Mines - the story of lead mining in the N. Pennines, exhibition, excavations trails

(George, Timothy, John & Josephine, Hannah)