Cycling in the Pennines

Bollihope Common & Chapel Fell

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REFRESHMENTS
Middleton Cafe's
Bowlees Centre

Pubs at
Middleton
Langdon Beck
St John's Chapel
Eastgate
Westgate

PUBLIC TOILETS
Dales Centre
Middleton
St John's Chapel
Westgate*

* Open Easter-Oct

CYCLE SHOPS
Nenthead
Newton Aycliffe
Richmond
Darlington

ACCOMMODATION

For further information contact
Dales Centre 01388 527650

Ask for a North Pennines Discovery Guide 01388 528801

Request a County Durham Holiday Guide 0191 3833354

TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRES

Barnard Castle
01833 690909

Stanhope
01388 527650

Middleton in Teesdale
01833 641001

                 
High Force & Hoar Frost at Softly Bank Stanhope

Leaving Stanhope this cycle  route climbs steeply over Softly Bank following the Roman Road to cross Bollihope Common into Middleton in Teesdale. Following the Tees Valley the circuit goes to Bowlees, past High Force and its waterfall, Forest in Teesdale and Langdon Beck and then over Harthope Head descending into St John's Chapel and back to Stanhope.

Bollihope Circuit

From Stanhope To Stanhope
Cycling Distance 32.3 miles

at 10.0 mph 4 hrs 4.56 mins.
at 13.0 mph 3 hrs 8.12 mins.
at 16.0 mph 2 hrs 32.85 mins.
at 19.0 mph 2 hrs 8.72 mins.
at 22.0 mph 1 hr 51.16 mins.
 

Cycle route 8

8:1 Leave dales Centre and turn RIGHT onto A689 for half mile
8:2  Turn LEFT (2) onto B6278 climbing (Softly Bank) out of Stanhope
8:3 Continue over (Scot Hill) to climb (The Bollihope) After descending for approx 1.5 miles bear RIGHT (3)onto local roads towards Middleton in Teesdale
8:4 At road junction entering Middleton in Teesdale turn LEFT (4)
8:5 Turn RIGHT onto B277 in Middleton (5)
8:6 Continue on valley road towards Alston until  Langdon Beck (6) passing (Bowlees Visitor Centre) and (High Force)
8:7 Take first RIGHT turn after Langdon Beck (7) over the climb to (Harthope Head) to St John's Chapel
8:8 At T junction in St John's chapel turn RIGHT onto A689 (8)
8:9 Continue on A687 through Eastgate (9) to arrive at Stanhope Dale Centre (10)

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Elevation profile: Bollihope circuit height gain 4242 ft

The Hills

Softly Bank And Scot Hill
Height: 1300 ft
Length: approx 1.5 miles
Steepest section 1 in 4
Softly Bank starts after leaving Stanhope with a steep section of 1 in 4 followed by a 1 in 6 around tight corners. The ascent continues over Scot Hill before descending to the bottom of the Bollihope

The Bollihope
Height: 1636 ft
Length: 2 miles
Steepest section: 1 in 10
Starting at the quarry the Bollihope climbs over the moors for 2 miles. There is a slight downhill section in the middle of the climb before it continues to the summit.

Harthope Head (Chapel Fell)
Height 2056 ft
Length: approx 2.5 miles
Steepest section 1 in 7
The climb from the Teesdale side is easier than the ascent from the Weardale valley. This climb is in two sections the initial climb of about half a mile to the cattle grid. A short descent to a bridge then the main climb starts over the moors where the rare Black Grouse nest. There is a steeper section of 1 in 7 before the top of the climb.
This climb can suffer from adverse weather conditions due to its altitude.
 

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