"Town With A Castle" Top 5 Page for this destination Barnard Castle by nickandchris

Barnard Castle Travel Guide: 41 reviews and 135 photos

A Visit At Last

Nick's parents and sister live in the north east of England and often, when we travelled to see them, we would drive through Barnard Castle and say, "We must have a look at the castle one day." Eventually, in 2001, we decided to spend a weekend staying in the van around Barnard Castle. From here we visited Raby Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale, both short hops away.

Around and About

Waterfalls in Teesdale.

We stayed on a CL. near Cleatlam, a few miles north east of Barnard Castle, arriving on the Friday evening and calling in at an Indian takeaway for our evening meal.
On Saturday we had a look round the town and explored the castle, a fine drizzle falling persistently.
On Sunday we toured in the van and went to Raby Castle which was an amazing place.
On Sunday, on our way home, we called in at Middleton and enjoyed a pleasant walk along the river to the waterfalls.

The Town

Bowes Museum Gardens.

Barnard Castle is an attractive, historical market town situated on the Durham side of the Tees, in County Durham, and is the capital of Teesdale. It's crowning glory is the 12th c. castle, built by Bernard Balliol, on banking overlooking the river Tees.The castle now belongs to English Heritage and is open to the public.
The town's other tourist attraction is the Bowes Museum, on the outskirts of B.C. This is home to a most amazing collection of collectables, clocks, costumes, pictures and textiles, to name but a few.
The town itself straggles uphill, in two distinct parts, with plenty of shops and eating places. It's a pretty easy place to drive through and there are carparks signposted. You have to visit the castle on foot.

We enjoyed our stay in this area but now Nick's parents have both died, we don't travel to the north east so much and we feel we have "done" Barnard Castle and surrounds.

2011 UPDATE.
STAYED IN THIS AREA FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS AND ENJOYED A LOOK ROUND EGGLESTON HALL GARDENS AND THE BOWES MUSEUM GARDEN.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Old-fashioned, intersting town
Cons:Expensive petrol...!!!!
In a nutshell:Just a nice part of the world....

Last visit to Barnard Castle: Apr 2011
Intro Updated May 13, 2011
Add to Trip Planner (?)
Report Abuse

Reviews (14)

Olde worlde Golden Lion pub. - Barnard Castle

Central Town. Restaurants (1)

It was nearly two o' clock (the time when most pubs stop serving lunch) and we were hungry! After a couple of failed... more travel advice

At the top, two borders. - Barnard Castle

Over The Moors Route... Things to Do (10)

This was a route we had hoped to travel on the motorbike but unfortunately it suffered a puncture on an earlier ride so... more travel advice

River Walks Things to Do (10)

This is great river walking country, with the Tees and the Greta joining forces just south of Barnard castle. Whilst... more travel advice

Eggleston Hall Gardens Off The Beaten Path (1)

This is known as the secret garden of the north and as we were in the area, thought we'd take a look.It is mainly a... more travel advice

Hotels (2)
See All Wonderfully Rural

Been to Barnard Castle?
Share your travels with the world!

Comments (11)

Reply
- Report abuse
Yaqui May 2, 2011 at 8:12 AM

Wow, this place is absolutely beautiful. I will be back for more. Lovely page!
Reply
- Report abuse
BruceDunning Jul 19, 2010 at 2:01 PM

The Bowes museum looks like a 2 day special to see it all. The whole place is so appealing. I have a trip planned for that area in 2-3 years, and will strive to live up to the schedule. You did great in presenting this.
Reply
- Report abuse
balhannah May 31, 2010 at 2:24 AM

Raby Castle and the Bowes Museum sound really good.
Reply
- Report abuse
MD2nd Mar 17, 2010 at 10:08 AM

Would love to do that woodland walk to England's highest waterfall some day. Great tips! And thanks for having me back.
Reply
- Report abuse
ranger49 Jan 18, 2010 at 8:16 AM

Another very interesting "Home grown" page with useful and informative Tips. I always make a bee line for stately home kitchens and Id love to see the one at Raby Castle!
Reply
- Report abuse
unaS Oct 28, 2008 at 1:16 PM

Love castles, manor homes and old remains... Looks like I have to visit again.
Reply
- Report abuse
MalenaN Sep 1, 2006 at 11:49 PM

Sounds like you had nice days exploring Barnard Castle and the surroundings! I would like to see this region of England one day.
Reply
- Report abuse
Ben-UK Jul 6, 2006 at 12:50 AM

So many castles, abbeys, stately homes etc in this part of the world it's hard to fit them all in! - another very nice page, thank you.
Reply
- Report abuse
ChristinaNest Apr 11, 2006 at 1:15 PM

Another nice place I missed when in England. It seems great fun travelling in a motorhome!! When I was a kid I envied the tourists coming to the Black Coast in caravans, seemed so cool, maybe one day we should get one :)
Reply
- Report abuse
KiKitC Dec 25, 2005 at 8:07 AM

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May the Great Spirit walk with you always.