W19: Bowes Fell And Gods Bridge

Leave Station car park at 9.15am. Start Bowes and Gilmonby Village Hall DL12 9HR (GR: NY 996 135, What3Words: ///lotteries.superbly.years) at 10.00am. 10.5 Miles. Moderate. 7 We explore some of the vast, empty moors in the southwestern corner of County Durham, mainly using sections of both the main route and the Bowes Loop of the Pennine Way. Bowes is a handsome village dominated by the ruins of the 12th Century Bowes Castle, and also the site of Dotheboys Hall, theYorkshire boarding school exposed for its harsh conditions in Dickens novel Nicholas Nickleby. Also of interest are the remnants of RAF Bowes Moor, near Barnard Castle, which was used in the 1940s to store mustard gas, which was burnt off at the end of World War II.The highlight of the walk is undoubtedly Gods Bridge, a limestone bridge over the River Greta, and the UKs best example of a natural bridge formed by cave development.