Skip To Main Content

  • Accommodation
    • Don't Miss
      • City Breaks
      • Coast and Countryside Escapes
      • Spa Breaks
      • Dog Friendly
      • Stunning Stays
    • Hotels
    • B&B and Guest Houses
    • Inns & Pubs
    • Self Catering & Holiday Cottages
      • Self Catering Agencies
    • Caravan, Camping & Glamping
    • Hostels
    • Special Offers
  • Things to Do
    • Don't Miss
      • Beamish Museum
      • Bowlees Visitor Centre
      • Dalton Park Outlet Shopping Centre
      • Durham Castle Tours
      • Durham Cathedral
      • Durham University Botanic Garden
      • Durham University Oriental Museum
      • Hamsterley Forest
      • Hardwick Park
      • High Force
      • Kynren- An epic Tale of England
      • Locomotion
      • Open Treasure
      • Palace Green Library
      • Raby Castle
      • The Bowes Museum
      • Wharton Park
    • Support Durham's Local Businesses
    • Attractions
      • Castles & Historic Houses
      • Cathedral & Churches
      • Hands on History
      • Gardens & Parks
      • Family Fun
      • Museums & Galleries
      • Waterfalls & Reservoirs
    • Activities
      • Adventure Activities
      • Cycling
      • Fishing
      • Golf
      • Horse Riding
      • Spas
      • Walking
    • Entertainment
      • Cinema
      • Theatre
    • Shopping
      • Virtual Winter Fayre
      • Christmas Gifts
      • Antiques
      • Arts & Crafts
      • Farm Shops & Markets
      • Garden Centres
      • Independent Shops & Boutiques
      • Shopping Centres
      • Buy Online
      • Collection Service
      • Local Delivery Service
      • Regional Delivery Service
    • Sightseeing, Tours & Guides
      • Attraction Tours
      • Tour Guides
      • Scenic Tours
      • Cycling Tours
      • Walking Tours
      • Durham City Guide - Churches, Chapels and Cafes
    • Weddings
      • Historic Wedding Venues
      • Hotel Wedding Venues
      • Wedding Suppliers
      • Wedding Fairs & Events
      • Stag & Hen Party Ideas
      • Wedding Packages
  • What's On
    • Don't Miss
      • England v Sri Lanka ODI Royal London Series
    • Virtual Events
    • Dark Skies Events
    • Family Events
      • Free Events
    • Foodie Events
    • Historic Events
    • Cinema, Theatre & Music Events
      • Cinema Venues
      • Theatre Venues
    • Sporting Events
    • Top 10 Events
  • Food & Drink
    • Don't Miss
      • Cafe Bowes at The Bowes Museum
      • Collage Restaurant and Grill
      • Headlam Hall Restaurant
      • Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill
      • Ozone at Seaham Hall
      • The Brasserie at Rockliffe Hall Hotel
      • The Cafe on the Green
      • The Clubhouse at Rockliffe Hall Hotel
      • The Dining Room
      • The Orangery
      • The Rose and Crown
      • Undercroft Restaurant
    • Support Durham's Local Businesses
    • Restaurants
    • Tearooms & Coffee Shops
    • Pubs & Bars
    • Local Produce
      • Farmers Markets
      • Farm Shops
    • Special Offers
    • Inspire Me
      • Food Itineraries
      • Foodie Events
      • Tasty Tours
      • Tasty Places to Stay
  • Inspire Me
    • Don't Miss
      • Auckland Castle
      • Beamish Museum
      • Dalton Park
      • Durham Cathedral
      • Hamsterley Forest
      • High Force
      • Killhope
      • North Pennines AONB
    • Short Break Ideas
      • Dark Skies
      • Dog Friendly Durham
      • Romantic Getaways
      • Spa Breaks
      • Golf Breaks
      • Weddings
      • City Break
    • Seasonal
      • Spring Breaks
      • Summer Breaks
      • Autumn Breaks
      • Winter Breaks
    • Taste Durham
    • Worth the Wait
    • #LoveDurham... from your sofa
    • Explore from your Door
    • Discover Durham's Great Outdoors
    • Delve Into Our Heritage
    • Durham's Top 10s
    • Durham Videos
    • Itineraries
  • Explore Durham
    • Durham City
    • Durham Dales
    • Vale of Durham
    • Durham Coast
    • Durham Towns
      • Barnard Castle
      • Bishop Auckland
      • Chester-le-Street
      • Seaham
      • Stanhope
    • North Pennines AONB and UNESCO Global Geopark
    • North East England
  • Visitor Information
    • Covid-19 Latest
    • Information Points
    • Maps of Durham
    • Getting to Durham
    • Getting Around Durham
      • Car Hire
      • Taxis
      • Electric Car Charging Points
    • Accessibility
    • Publications
    • Durham Apps

Don't Miss

  • Hardwick Park Sedgefield

    Explore From Your Door

  • Walking in Durham - Worth the Wait

    Worth the Wait

  • Collection Services available in Durham

    Love Local

  • Love Durham from your Sofa

    Enjoy a Virtual Visit

  • Corporate
  • Groups & Travel Trade
  • Durham Place Of Light
  • Northern Saints
Menu
  • Top Attractions

  • Places To Stay

  • Things to Do

    Things to Do in Durham

  • Planning Your Trip

    Planning Your Trip

  • Inspire Me

Site Search Icon

Login to your account

Welcome to the Itinerary Planner. Use this tool to build your own journey or choose from an exciting range of specially selected tours.

To build your own Itinerary, click Add to Excursion to add an item to your Itinerary basket.

List All My Saved Itineraries

  • This is Durham
  • Print Logo
Close Navigation

Follow Us...

  • Facebook

    Thumbnail for Facebook

  • Twitter

    Thumbnail for Twitter

  • Youtube

    Thumbnail for Youtube

  • Pintrest

    Pinterest

  • Instagram

    Instagram

  • Blog

    This is Durham Blog

You are here > Home > Things to Do > The Way of Love

The Way of Love

Visit Website

Add The Way of Love to your Itinerary

Heugh Lighthouse
  • Heugh Lighthouse
  • Trimcomalee Hartlepool
  • Heugh Battery The Headlands Hartlepool
  • Walking in Durham
  • The Headland
  • Open Treasure: Conservation in Action: Durham Cathedral

About

The Way of Love follows the influence of three of the most important female figures in the establishment of Christianity in England - St Hilda, St Helena and St Mary Magdalene - whilst mixing maritime and mining heritage, nationally-important nature reserves and the North East’s iconic denes.

The countryside The Way of Love links up between Hartlepool and Durham now seems gentle, sleepy and seldom walked. It was not always thus.

Step back in time to Anglo-Saxon and Norman England and this region was front-page news: some of the ground-breaking goings-on in the Christianisation of England happened hereabouts. One of the most famous of the country’s dual-sex monasteries was set up at Hartlepool, with the second abbess, St Hilda, going on to head up one of the Anglo-Saxon world’s premier religious centres at Whitby. Brutal monarch King Canute turned up to take a pilgrimage along this route from Trimdon in 1020, while a stone cross depicting Christianity’s original ambassador St Helena, and numbering among Britain’s most important Romanesque sculptures, was built into a church at Kelloe.

In the 18th and 19th centuries this area resounded to the sounds of some of the planet’s biggest industries.

Hartlepool was a very busy port and the villages en route to Durham had some of the defining coalmines in the Great Northern Coalfield, which became the powerhouse for the North East’s greatest-ever period of economic growth. Post industrial landscaping has had interesting affects on nature hereabouts, with coal railway tracks re-purposed as walkways and cycleways, and spoil heaps transformed into rolling hills, helping to
create some rich species diversity across a number of nature reserves.

The scenery here, as kissed by sea as it is hugged by inland rivers and streams, has perhaps avoided the attention other parts of the North East get today because its most outstanding parts remain so hidden. The steep wooded valleys known as denes, one of the region’s most distinctive topographical features, evade the gaze of the most eagle-eyed traveller until the last moment.

Descend into their tranquil, time-lost depths and you are sure to fall head over heels for The Way of Love.

For full route descriptions download the documents below.

Book Tickets

TripAdvisor

Downloads

The_Way_of_Love_1582117487.gpx
10 Kb

The_Way_of_Love_1582117487.gpx

The_Way_of_Love_Leaflet_1037229578.pdf
2 Mb

The_Way_of_Love_Leaflet_1037229578.pdf

The_Way_of_Love_Route_Description_150045039.pdf
3.9 Mb

The_Way_of_Love_Route_Description_150045039.pdf

The_Way_of_Love_West_to_East_Route_Description_1957078542.pdf
3.9 Mb

The_Way_of_Love_West_to_East_Route_Description_1957078542.pdf

Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader

Access Information

Opening Times

Season (1 Jan 2021 - 31 Dec 2021)

Map & Directions

Map Link

View Map

Highlights...

Castle Eden Dene National Nature Reserve, PeterleeCastle Eden Dene is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and is home to an extraordinary variety of birds, more than 450 species of plants, and some of our favourite mammals, such as roe deer and fox.

Durham Castle ToursDurham Castle Tours - closed until early 2021, Durham CityDurham Castle is part of the Durham City World Heritage Site. Entrance by guided tour only. Opening can vary - All enquiries re guided tours should be directed Palace Green Library. Telephone 0191 334 2932 or castle.tours@durham.ac.uk.

Durham Cathedral riverside walksDurham Cathedral, Durham CityThought by many to be the finest example of Norman church architecture in England, with the tombs of St Cuthbert and The Venerable Bede. Please check opening times before travelling.

St Helen Auckland Parish ChurchSt Helen Auckland Parish Church, Bishop AucklandThe 12thC church of St Helen. Daily Mass times: Sunday and Wednesday, Thursday 10:00, Monday 19:00, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday 09:30.

Durham Heritage CoastDurham Heritage Coast, SeahamExperience the colourful and dramatic landscape of Durham’s Heritage Coast with its beaches, rugged cliffs and magnificent flora and fauna.

World Heritage Site Visitor CentreWorld Heritage Site Visitor Centre - Closed until early 2021, Durham CityA free visitor centre providing an introduction to Durham World Heritage Site and what there is to see and do in and around the site. Ideal for families.

Old Durham GardensOld Durham Gardens, Durham CityOld Durham Gardens can be found less than a mile east of Durham City Centre. The gardens can be reached through a number of walks, including a very pleasant route through Pelaw Woods and provide a charming public space for everyone to enjoy.

Free Open Treasure entry to lottery ticket holdersOpen Treasure at Durham Cathedral - temporarily closed, Durham CityOpen Treasure is an award-winning museum for all ages which guides visitors through some of Durham Cathedral’s most spectacular spaces, including the fourteenth-century Monks’ Dormitory and the monastic Great Kitchen.

Palace Green Library DurhamPalace Green Library - closed to walk-in visitors until early 2021, Durham CityPalace Green Library, in the heart of Durham city, holds Durham University's special collections. Our galleries are open to all and display treasures spanning millennia and the globe.

Cassop Vale Nature Reserve, Old CassopCassop Vale showcases diverse wildlife, open water, lowland grassland and areas of woodland. It lies between the villages of Bowburn and Cassop, 7 km south-east of the centre of Durham. A great way to stay close to nature throughout it pleasant walks.

What's Nearby

  1. Lofty's Crazy Golf

    Lofty's Crazy Golf

    Some GREAT REASONS to play a game at Lofty’s Crazy Golf (comments from our customers on…

    2.37 miles away
  2. Horden Colliery Heritage Centre

    Horden Colliery Heritage Centre

    Heritage Centre with themed rooms. Mining Museum going back 100 years with 350 archives,…

    7.51 miles away
  3. The Gardens, Wynyard

    The Gardens, Wynyard

    The Gardens at Wynyard Hall are fast becoming one of the North’s leading visitor…

    8.06 miles away
  1. Wheatley Hill Heritage Centre

    Wheatley Hill Heritage Centre

    Wheatley Hill Heritage Centre is small building of architectural beauty situated in…

    9.98 miles away
  2. Durham Heritage Coast

    Durham Heritage Coast

    Experience the colourful and dramatic landscape of Durham’s Heritage Coast with its…

    11.29 miles away
  3. Seaham Harbour Marina

    Seaham Harbour Marina

    The multi award-winning Seaham Marina is County Durham's one and only marina. The marina…

    11.47 miles away
  4. East Durham Heritage and Lifeboat Centre

    East Durham Heritage and Lifeboat Centre

    The East Durham Heritage and Lifeboat Centre displays the historic lifeboat The George…

    11.47 miles away
  5. Art Block

    Art Block

    The Art Block is the only dedicated art gallery in East Durham.

    11.5 miles away
  6. Hardwick Park at sunset

    Hardwick Park

    This VisitEngland accredited attraction is an 18th Century parkland featuring beautiful…

    11.94 miles away
  7. Durham Brewery

    The Durham Brewery Ltd

    Brewers of cask, keg and bottle-conditioned beer.  Durham Brewery's philosophy is simple.…

    14.36 miles away
  8. Down at the Farm

    Down at the Farm

    Award winning Farm Adventure Park for the whole family! Come and feed the lambs, hold a…

    15.32 miles away
  9. Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve and Visitor Centre

    Rainton Meadows Nature Reserve and Visitor Centre

    Rainton Meadows was created by the restoration of the Rye Hill Opencast coal mine in 1996…

    15.75 miles away
  10. DLI Collection Research and Study Centre

    DLI Collection at Sevenhills - Closed Until Further Notice Due to Covid-19

    The Durham Light Infantry Collection has moved to Sevenhills at Spennymoor. Items from…

    15.76 miles away
  11. Old Durham Gardens

    Old Durham Gardens

    Old Durham Gardens can be found less than a mile east of Durham City Centre. The gardens…

    15.83 miles away
  12. St Giles Church Durham City

    St. Giles Church

    St. Giles’ has been a place for people to meet and worship for over 900 years.…

    16.35 miles away
  13. Feed the llamas at Adventure Valley

    Adventure Valley

    Discover a world of family adventures at Adventure Valley, the North East’s biggest…

    16.42 miles away
Previous Next
More

Search What's Nearby

Product Type
Proximity
Within miles
  • Enewsletter Sign Up

  • Win

  • Save

  • Contact Us

Loading..Loading..
  • Print Page
  • Email Page
Home Accommodation
  • Hotels,
  • B&B and Guest Houses ,
  • Inns & Pubs,
  • Self Catering & Holiday Cottages,
  • Caravan, Camping & Glamping,
  • Dog Friendly,
  • Hostels,
  • Special Offers,
Things to Do
  • Attractions,
  • Activities,
  • Shopping,
  • Sightseeing, Tours & Guides,
What's On
  • Family Events,
  • Foodie Events,
  • Historic Events,
  • Cinema, Theatre & Music Events,
  • Sporting Events,
  • Top 10 Events,
Food & Drink
  • Restaurants,
  • Tearooms & Coffee Shops,
  • Pubs & Bars,
  • Local Produce,
  • Tasty Places to Stay,
  • Foodie Events,
  • Food Itineraries,
  • Special Offers,
Inspire Me
  • Short Break Ideas,
  • Taste Durham,
  • Discover Durham's Great Outdoors,
  • Delve Into Our Heritage,
  • Durham's Top 10s,
  • Itineraries,
Explore Durham
  • Durham City,
  • Durham Dales,
  • Vale of Durham,
  • Durham Coast,
  • Durham Towns,
  • North East England,
Visitor Information
  • Information Points,
  • Maps of Durham,
  • Getting to Durham,
  • Getting Around Durham,
  • Accessibility,
  • Publications,
Submit Event
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Submit Event
  • Terms & Conditions

© Copyright Visit County Durham. All Rights Reserved

Registered Office: Visit County Durham, 2nd Floor, County Hall, Dryburn Road, Durham, DH1 5UL

Ratings & Reviews

Powered By

tripadvisor