Through Meadow and Woodland in Weardale

When you go over the 2,000ft (610m) watershed on the moors between Allendale and Weardale you cross into Durham, the land of the Prince Bishops. Like Allendale, upper Weardale has earned its riches from mining, quarrying and farming. Both valleys have the scars to show for it, and they both have the attractive hillside pastures with crazed web-like patterns of the dry-stone walls. However, while Allendale has few villages along its length Weardale has many - charming villages built out of local stone and delightful flower-filled fields that dip into the river.

Westgate, where the walk starts, marked the western extremity of the Forest Quarter, also known as the Bishops' Park. Here the Prince Bishops hunted for deer, supplying venison for their kitchens. It was said in the 16th century that they hunted with such enthusiasm that the deer population had almost been wiped out. These powerful churchmen reigned from the early Christian times of the Romans, right through to the 1830s. After the Norman King, William Rufus, granted them regal powers they were regarded as second only to the Kings of England and ruled from a palace in Bishop Auckland and their cathedral at Durham.

The River Wear is your guide as field paths head up the valley to St John's Chapel. This is a larger village with a fine Georgian church and rows of well-to-do cottages. Now you climb the hillsides and turn eastwards along a country road. It may be tarmac, but this 2-mile (3.2km) quiet lane enjoys subtly changing views that are as good as any in the county. Now you can see how green Weardale is, a vivid green that contrasts with the stark high moors of Chapel Fell and Westerhope.

The lane ends and an old cart track takes you up on to the moors, then down into a lonely side valley that once would have reverberated to the sounds of the Middlehope lead mine. The abutment of an old bridge is a relic from an old mine railway that connected Westgate with the mines of Rookhope. Here you follow the stream to the Slit Mines. The shaft, at 585ft (178m), is the one of the deepest in Weardale, while the Slit lead vein at 14 miles (22.5km), is the valley's longest.

The valley, so far, has been a shaly one, but now it narrows and the harder limestone rock surfaces. The river gets playful and tumbles down in a series of waterfalls. You are entering Slit Woods, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The footpath weaves its way through this ancient woodland, a place filled with oaks and rowans, wild strawberries and ransoms. Like many old woods you'll see dog's mercury, wood anemone and wood sorrel, a low creeping perennial with pretty lilac-tinged white flowers. It's a wonderful way into Westgate and a fitting finale for a memorable walk.

What to look for

You may notice the purple fluorspar crystals scattered around the mines' washing floors or sparkling on the stream bed. It was considered a waste product of lead mining when that industry was in full swing, but later fluorspar was found to be useful, and mined in its own right, as a fusion agent in the steel manufacturing industry.

While you're there

Visit the Weardale Museum and High House Chapel at Ireshopeburn. The folk museum's displays include the kitchen of a farmer or lead miner as it would have been in the 17th to 19th centuries, a collection of local crystallised minerals and exhibitions of local history. Learn about the Weardale railways and about the visits of preacher John Wesley. High House Chapel (founded 1760) is the oldest Methodist chapel in the world in continuous use. Open afternoons May to September except Monday and Tuesday.

Where to eat and drink

Atholl's Restaurant at the Cross Keys in Eastgate stands out well above all others. Here the chef, Atholl Graham, produces tasty meals like venison served with a port wine and blackberry sauce.