Bowes Railway Path at Dipton

Introduction

The photograph on this page of Bowes Railway Path at Dipton by Oliver Dixon as part of the Geograph project.

The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk

Bowes Railway Path at Dipton

Image: © Oliver Dixon Taken: 28 Feb 2014

The Bowes Railway was one of the oldest railways in the world, sections of which were constructed by George Stephenson in 1826, and extended from Pontop to the Tyne at Jarrow. In 1842 it was bought and restored by John Bowes and Partners (hence the name). As the coal industry declined, so did use of the railway and the last section of the line was abandoned in the 1970s. The trackbed is now being converted into a cycle- and foot-path running from Dipton via Burnopfield, Kibblesworth, Birtley and Springwell to Jarrow. It forms Regional Route 11 of the National Cycle Network. At present, much of the path is of poor standard, only suitable for mountain bikes.

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