Bowes Railway Path
Wardley to Tanfield Railway Path

A convenient place to start is from the Cock Crow Inn car park on Mill Lane - Hebburn

 

Exit the car park, right on Mill Lane, over bridge and turn left down ramp to join the cycle path.

The path to the right leads to Jarrow and NCN 14
via the Monkton Cycleway.

 

Turn left under road bridge and ahead crossing the Metro Railway line to enter Gateshead - pass Wardley Country Park (R) and cross over another railway bridge.

Continue straight ahead - over A195 road - under A184 - over Lingley Lane to Leam Lane.
Use safe crossing point continue ahead - now slowly climbing at 1:24 up towards Springwell crossing over an accommodation bridge.
East Gateshead Cycleway crosses at Jingling Gate - Wardley
At A1195 turn right for traffic free cycleway to Gateshead Town Centre along the Felling Bypass. Left to Whitemare Pool.
Links between Bowes Railway Path and Team Coliery Waggonway

At this point you enter the District of Sunderland

Continue climbing uphill until you reach the high fence around the Bowes Railway Museum site at Springwell.

The cycle route leaves the Bowes Railway trackbed here for about a mile and skirts the Bowes Railway Workshops, Museum and the Blackham's Hill Inclines and also enters Sunderland for a short distance.

Bear right and follow the narrow path alongside the fence to the Bowes Railway Museum car park.

Exit the car park and turn left onto Springwell Road - after a short distance turn right and follow track across fields - skirting the Springwell Quarries, at the rail track turn left and follow the path and further on cross over rail track.

 

You re-enter the District of Gateshead again

Continue on lane behind houses - then bear right steeply downhill on rough lane.

Cross minor road and continue on track through fields steeply downhill - turn left towards the engine house at Black Fell and then right to re-join the Bowes Railpath again.

Continue steeply downhill passing under A1(T), A6127 and a minor road in succession.
Pass under the East Coast Main Line railway and several bridges under the old Tyne Marshalling Yard to cross the R. Team.


Before
After
Bowes Railpath passing under the Tyne Marshalling Yard at Team Valley

This is the lowest point on the Bowes Railpath at 50 ft. above sea level, after which the
cycle path begins to climb up again towards Birkheads at 550 ft. above sea level.

Continue ahead crossing Greenford Lane - passing Kibblesworth Village (R) - over Kibblesworth Bank with the track steepens to an average of 1:18 - crossing over Birkland Lane and Birkheads Lane to the summit at Birkheads.

all along this section as far as Kibblesworth there are various sculptures

The route now levels off and joins a rough road - ahead to junction with A6076 road.

Take care crossing the busy A6076 road
Improvements to this crossing point are planned.

Turn right on road and immediatly left into the car park for the Tanfield Railway
and the end of the Bowes Railway Path.

Choice of Route
Continue on Tanfield Railway Path to NCN 14 at Dunston
Return to Wardley


Continue south to Stanley and NCN 7 - C2C
Turn left onto A6076 road to Causey Arch Hotel - bear left to Kip Hill to rejoin A6076.
Uphill into Stanley - pass under C2C bridge and join path up onto NCN 7 - C2C.

There is also a link at Kibblesworth Bank to NCN 7 (C2C) - via Beamish Museum