Railway Paths Around Spennymoor

The walking routes around Spennymoor and the surrounding towns and villages are influenced by the town's industrial heritage. Mining is the industry which shaped the landscape more than any other. For one thing, it is responsible for the build up of settlements in the area. Prior to the mines opening, Spennymoor was essentially moorland (although some of its surrounding localities such as Whitworth, Kirk Merrington, Tudhoe Village and Binchester have more ancient settlements). I will have a lot more to say about this area's relationship with mining in subsequent posts. Here I want to discuss one particular outcome of that relationship: the railway path. Now there are several railway paths around Spennymoor and its nearby towns and villages. By "railway path" I mean a former railway line which no longer carries trains but where there is now a path serving as a designated right of way. The reason mining was so integral to the proliferation of railway lines (and consequently railway paths) is the demand it generated in terms of transporting goods and people. As a heavy industry, there was a demand for bringing materials to the mines for production. There was also the need to transport goods to market. Then there was the demand generated as a result of the increase in population. Before mining arrived, the population of this area was very small. But with the emergence of mining came the demand for miners; and hence the number of settlements increased. This was all happening around the time when train travel for leisure purposes was becoming more accessible to working people. According to the local historian James J. Dodd, a train was put on for the miners to take them to Stockton Market each payday. 

Naturally, the decline of the mining industry undermined the need for train lines. And as such, many have now disappeared. Nowadays locals typically take the train from either Bishop Auckland or Durham with there being no station in the town - though the line from Durham does pass the nearby historical Sunderland Bridge. The trains may no longer service Spennymoor, but their legacy remains. There is a pub The Railway, marking the location where the railway bridge crossed the town centre. Opposite this pub is the Station Guest House, to the right of which there is a blue heritage plaque (now largely hidden by hedge) commemorating the railway bridge. There are several former station houses in the villages formerly serviced by the lines and remnants of the architecture around the line can still be found in some places, such as the platform in Byers Green. Then there is the way the train lines shaped the walking territory of the area. Many of the former railway lines are now rights of way, a large proportion being gravelled paths, making them ideal for cyclists. With dog bins at regular intervals, they are also popular with dog walkers. I think that, by and large, the council do a fairly good job of maintaining them. Some of the paths are not gravelled, but are, nonetheless, rights of way. An example being the one which runs nearby Jewitt's slaughter house near Middlestone Moor where remnants of the train line remains - although when I last visited this path it had become largely overgrown. 

"The lines", as they are known by locals, have served me well over the years. Even before I became a walker, I used to cycle them with my family and friends. Not being one for road running, they have provided me with the head space and access to nature many of us crave when out jogging. It is ironic in a way. The lines around Spennymoor arose out of the mining industry; an industry rightly associated with having negative consequences for the natural landscape - not to mention its historical contribution to climate change. And yet, in the form of railway paths, they have inadvertently provided an opportunity for many local residents to enjoy the nature to be found on their doorstep, away from the hustle and bustle of the town. Their importance in this respect was brought to the fore during the early stages of lockdown in response to Covid 19. Like many walkers, I was very concerned about the prospect of not being able to travel outside of my local area to walk. But having the lines at my feet made this much easier, and if I am honest, helped me and I am sure many others to reconnect with their home landscape. In the next few posts, I will share some of the railway routes in and around Spennymoor. 

Further reading:

James J. Dodd, The History of the Urban District of Spennymoor. 1897. pp. 137-138.