West Auckland

Hamsterley Hall

Hamsterley Mill · 19 miles

A castellated Gothic-Revival mansion set in the hamlet of Hamsterley, near Rowlands Gill in County Durham, stands as a notable example of an 18th-century English country house. Recorded on mapping services as a stately castle, the building is situated close to the village of Hamsterley Mill and carries a Grade II* listing, indicating its particular architectural and historic interest. The estate entered the Swinburne family in 1762 when Sir John Swinburne, Baronet, transferred it to his younger brother Henry. Henry Swinburne commissioned extensive works in 1769, reshaping the earlier house into the present two-storey, four-bay structure with a castellated roofline that defines its Gothic character. After Henry’s death in 1803, the property changed hands in 1806, being bought by Anthony Surtees. His son, the novelist Robert Smith Surtees, acquired the hall in 1838 and later served as High Sheriff of Durham in 1856. Following his death in 1864, the estate passed to his daughter Eleanor, who married John Gage Prendergast Vereker, the 5th Viscount Gort, in 1885. Their lineage continued at Hamsterley Hall, with John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, and later his brother Standish Vereker, 7th Viscount, residing there until the latter’s death in 1975.

Drinkfield Marsh Nature Reserve

Harrowgate Hill · 8.7 miles

Local nature reserve hidden away between a school and a waste recycling depot but home to a wide variety of wildlife

William T Stead Memorial

Darlington · 9.9 miles

This stone originally belonging to W Stead to which he tethered his dogs and pony is probably the only monument to his memory in Darlington. The boulder is a fitting symbol of his indomitable courage. He perished on the TITANIC April 15th 2012.

Riverside Park

Darlington · 9.9 miles

New park area which sits on the site once inhabited by the Bishop of Durham in a 12th century palace, which stood on the banks of the Skerne directly behind the Town Hall.

Castle Steads

Quebec · 11 miles

Site Of Medieval Manor House

Stony Beck Lake

Bishop Middleham · 11 miles

Formerly seasonal lake that is now virtually permanent