going theyre for my old mans 70th…in august,got a very nice farmhouse for the week.any good attractions locally/pubs/restuarents etc?

your help is much appreciated!

Are you in Bishop, or just near it?

i think were in the village…

Bishop’s a small town, rather than a village. Last time I was there the pound shop had a sale on 🙂

There’s a heritage railway up Weardale and some nice walking and cycling to be had round and about. Not sure about nice pubs or restaurants.

Ah, Bish Vegas.

I tend to lock the doors driving through there.

were going with a few kids so i thought about a day at the coast is that far? any good pubs/rest?

makes Shildon look civilised.

Coast between Teeside and SUnderland is minging….avoid it.

Go to Hamsterley Forest or High Force or Middleton-in-teesdale area instead or Durham city.

There’s a railway museum in Shildon, too.

drive to Newcastle

Durham City is worth a visit and its got a good park and ride scheme.

Hamsterley Forest has easy off road trails for the kids and you can hire bikes.

Its generally nicer heading West,Barnard Castle,Middleton in Teesdale,Stanhope.

Might be worth a look at the National Railway Museum in Shildon.Its free and doesn’t take too long to walk around it.

Once out into the country you’ll find plenty of pubs for food.

Theres a wetland for birds at Low Barns just outside Witton le Wear.You can wander around and theres hides so you can view the birds ,and plenty of info.

Bowes Museum and Raby castle tend to be quite pricey.Richmonds quite nice.

Bishop is a tosshole of the first order, as are most of the surrounding towns and villages. Some of them even have sweet sounding names such as Butterknowle to lure you in. Grim.

You can drive over the back to Teesdale in about half an hour. Rose and Crown at Romaldkirk is a very highly rated restaurant/pub in a pretty village. High Force Hotel is pretty good, and can be combined with a top walk, same for the Langdon Beck Hotel a bit further up. There’s a nice cafe/deli type thing next to the garden centre at Eggleston Hall in Eggleston (the setting for the ‘Ladette to Lady’ series, if I remember correctly).

Barnard Castle is worth a visit – nice museum and some nice pubs etc.

Hamsterley Forest is only good if you’re there to ride, really, although a stroll along the river is nice enough.

As others have said, go to the Railway Museum at Shildon, it’s like the one at York, only better.

Durham is worth a visit too, to see the nicest skyline in England, especially of you get the train in.

martinhutch,whats wrong with Butterknowle?

Now if you’d said Evenwood and Eldon were nicer than Butterknowle then it must be bad.

Better not tell you which “surrounding village” i live in.

Durham is worth a visit too, to see the nicest skyline in England, especially of you get the train in.

I like going in from the motorway. Trundle along the dual carriageway and then WTF..! Even after all these years the size of the thing still catches me out.

Durham is worth a visit too, to see the nicest skyline in England, especially of you get the train in.

I make sure I get the seat on the best side to see the cathedral whenever I get the train up from Darlington to Newcastle.

No, of course Evenwood is worse. I picked on Butterknowle just because it sounds so quaint. But I have heard some interesting stories from folk who’ve come into contact with its denizens, and I remember the name seemed to crop up a lot in the court and police columns of the local rag.

It’s possible that it’s been slightly tarred by my driving past it every day on my way to the most hateful job of my career.

I’m sure whichever village you live in is charming. Or at least you’ve convinced yourself it is… 🙂

Having worked in BA for a while the best I can say is it’s nicest when you leave….and don’t go into the centre at night with young kids. As someone has already mentioned, it’s a heady mix of locals mixing with local village incomers with a fairly high proportion from the ‘travelling’ community. It’s certainly entertaining 😉

As others have mentioned, Durham, Barnard Castle etc. are full of things to do/see, just make sure security is good on the farmhouse.

We’re really selling it to him aren’t we? 😀

Have you seen the movie ‘Deliverance’? if you have you will know what to expect. 😉 If not, watch it soon!

& you’ll be impressed with our cathedral from any angle, often said to be the ‘finest example of Norman architecture anywhere in the world’

makes York Minster look like a council house! 😉

Beamish isn’t that far away if it floats you boat. And of course there is Hartlepool Marina 😉

If you do want a day out at the coast start at Saltburn and look south, Robin Hoods Bay, Whitby.

Roseberry Topping to Captain Cook’s Monument is decent walk for the kids. Or head for Reeth, Tan Hill is close, Richmond Castle. Or look for some petroglyphs on Barningham moor.

No one going for Harperley POW camp?

Stuff to see:
Industrial heritage – National Railway Museum at Shildon; Weardale Railway; North Road Railway Museum – Darlington; Killhope Wheel – top end of Weardale; Nenthead Mines – over the hill from Killhope; South Tyne Railway – Alston; Beamish.

Culture:
Bowes Museum just because its a French Chateau on the edge of a northern market town

Countryside:
Hamsterly Forest; Upper Teesdale – park at Bowlees and walk up to High Force via Low Force; Cow Green and Cauldron Snout; Egglestone Abbey nr Barnard Castle; Barnard Castle Castle; Greta Bridge and Meeting of the Waters; Blanchland; Allenheads and Allendale; Hadrian’s Wall – A68 from Bishop to Corbridge.

If you don’t get to this part of the world too often then explore the North Pennines – Teesdale, Weardale, S.Tyne and Allendale.

Worked there for a while. Don’t go. Get out now.

I was born and raised in and around Bishop Auckland. I left as soon as I could but still go back to visit family. It’s a hole and seems to get worse over time.
As others have said go to Durham for a more cultural experience or Barnard Castle as a smaller quieter alterntive. oap’s regional suggestions are good.
Avoid town centres at night unless you like fighting or spending time with lairy arseholes.

Lol…Evenwood. Sometimes turn off the A68 just before Toft Hill and go through Evenwood to miss out West. No matter how sad I’m feeling it always cheers me up to know I don’t live there.

Barney is OK but parking is a mare, especially on market day, but even though I work there I’ve never been on the pop.

Barney is OK but parking is a mare, especially on market day, but even though I work there I’ve never been on the pop.

Has it’s fair share of fights – its those Evenwood, Butterknowle, Copley types coming in! The delights of Barney drinking

There’s a load of negativity about the area here but there are some good bits. The town centre in Bishop is a little sad (although some of the locals you see there are a worse sight). Can anyone explain how people who are supposedly hard up can get so fat?

Around Bishop there’s the Roman fort just outside the town (as featured in Time Team a couple of years ago), the Bishops palace and park, loads of decent railway cycle paths which are great for kids as they are flat and well surfaced.

It would help if we knew where you are actually staying but I would consider travelling for pubs to eat.

Generally move away from the former mining areas for the better pubs. There are plenty of nice pubs in Teesdale and towards Darlington.
Towards Darlington
The County – Aycliffe Village – gastro pub, bit pricey but their early bird menu is reasonable
George and Dragon – Heighington – decent country pub with good food and beer
The Bay Horse – Middridge – decent basic pub grub type food
The Brownlow Arms – Caldwell – good early bird menu
Bridgewater Arms – Winston

Teesdale
Rose and Crown – Romaldkirk – wonderful place for a special meal (I prefer the bistro/pub to the formal dining area)
The Crown – Mickleton – lovely recently refurbished country pub
The Riverside Restaurant – Barnard Castle – best in the area for food but not the cheapest

Darlington town centre has lots of options for eating –
Voodoo Cafe – Mexican
Imperial Express – Italian
Sol Tapas – Spanish/N African
Plus the usual chain places like Pizza Express.

As already mentioned there are plenty of places to visit and I’ll not repeat those already mentioned (apart from Locomotion National rail museum at Shildon which is pretty good and free entry. If you go on a weekend or over school holidays there is usually a steam train doing short rides.)

If you’ve got young boys then consider a trip to the Hartlepool historic marina/Napoleonic wars frigate Trincomalee. Our kids loved exploring the decks.

Beamish Museum is a good day out – not the cheapest but it’s a full day – you probably won’t get round everything if all the parts are open.
Durham is worth a visit too for the Cathedral.

If you go into Newcastle for the day then take the kids to the Hancock Museum – it’s free entry and is a really good museum with loads of mummies and dinosaur stuff including a full size Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton.

If the weathers good and you are in the Darlington area call in to Archers Ice cream at Walworth – they make their own ice cream from the milk from the farms Jersey herd.

If you have younger children then Hall Hill open farm nr Tow Law is excellent. It also has an indoor play area (included in the entry) where you can have a cuppa while the kids run around like loons.

George and Dragon – Heighington – decent country pub with good food and beer

Apparently Mark Gatiss of League of Gentlemen fame grew up opposite the former Victorian asylum at Heighington, which partly explains his somewhat twisted outlook on life.

Some good calls here. I would say, on reflection, that as long as the OP steers clear of the area immediately around Bishop, he’ll have a great time. The Durham Dales are gorgeous, and I would happily move back to Teesdale if I won the lottery.

Not Weird-dale though, obviously.

I agree that there are some areas around Bishop that are scruffy to say the least.
But,having lived in Bradford years ago,and still visiting there,Bishop is way above it on the ladder.
Since moving here i’ve found people to be really friendly and helpful,and the countrside is great.
Out of my door and onto open fields,or up the road to Hamsterley,its all easily accessable.
What really gets my goat though is the amount of rubbish at the roadside thrown out by vehicles.Is it just up here or all parts of the country.We take carrier bags with us when out with the dog and have filled over 50 so far just around our area.Most of its drive thru stuff
and it really is unsightly.
Can’t be too bad up here as i’ve heard Dame Judi Dench has bought a house nearby.

Indeed. I now live about 15 miles away from Bradford, and that’s almost too close for comfort. There’s not much countryside around there that hasn’t been pretty much ruined.

I used to sit in my office at Bishop and look out at the hills towards Hamsterley through the window. Nicest part of my day by far was rolling over the hill at Eggleston at 5.30 and seeing Teesdale spread out in front of me.

Can anyone explain how people who are supposedly hard up can get so fat?

That made me laugh that did.

thanks all! loads to go at theyre…..ill stay away from the locals…were staying here..http://www.english-country-cottages.co.uk/sites/english-country-cottages/pages/PropertyDetails_C.aspx?QS=2B831DC8-E0A4-4868-B1DF-DDB2FE4FD44A~C~MOJ~~216~GBP~~0~~A~N~~905c2795-98bc-442a-8b88-eec89b078587~7916~0~0~~~Y~N~
looks pretty nice!