I should have done this post before Belsay Castle and Bolam Lake as Sophie and I visited here a month earlier, but I forgot I hadn’t done it so here it is.
The History Bit
Wynyard Woodland Park (formerly known as the Castle Eden Walkway) started life as a working railway carrying freight to the ports along the River Tees. There are miles of flat footpaths, (remember that phrase dear reader) and numerous circular walks for trompsing around. And the old railway station is now a visitor centre. Thorpe Thewles was a small country station located on the Stockton and Castle Eden branch of the North East Railway approximately 5 miles north of Stockton-on-Tees and slightly northeast of the village it served. The line was opened for traffic by 1882.
The branch itself was an important part of the railway network, taking pressure off the heavily used routes around the Stockton area. There was never a great potential for passenger revenue, as the communities served were quite small. Around the turn of the nineteenth century Thorpe Thewles itself only had a population of around 300. Nevertheless, in the 1930’s, the branch was provided with 5 trains a day in each direction between Stockton and Wellfield.
The bulk of traffic was coal, together with materials for the regional industries especially shipbuilding. The line connected Teesside with Sunderland and Tyneside. Hay, livestock and clover were the usual goods cargo handled by the station, and there were coal drops to serve the surrounding community.
The line’s final demise even as a bypass route occurred as a result of the Beeching Axe review, closing in stages between 1966 and 1968.
Interesting factoid
There was an incident shortly before WW1 when the station master of Wynyard station, Mr G Dodds, discovered the dead body of the station master (name unknown) at Thorpe Thewles who is believed to have been murdered. Apparently his ghost wanders the visitor centre, so there’s that, if you believe in such things.
On with some pictures!
These guys were going to move so that we could take pictures of the sign, but I asked them to stay put and they were all smiley. 😊
We went along one of the circular walks without a map or anything and ended up walking miles not knowing where we were, that happens quite often to us. 🤷♀️
We started out well and came to this wonderful railway bridge with just amazing brickwork.
We came across a sculpture by Colin Wilbourne ~ the Celestial Kitchen. The park is also home to a planetarium and observatory, managed by the Cleveland and Darlington Astronomical Society so it’s to do with that, though we never found the observatory.
Each of the giant kitchen implements has a reference to the stars, the sun or various celestial movements.
You can read more about that on Mr.Wilbourn’s website HERE if you so desire.
On we trundled, I think we did the whole perimeter of the park instead of an actual prescribed walk and it took ages, with not much to photograph other than cows and pylons.
Eventually we got to a kind of junction on the pathway and had a choice of left or right- we chose right, which was also just plain wrong. Do you remember that phrase? Miles of flat footpaths? This stairway might as well have been up the side of Mount Everest, I nearly died before we got to the top. I am sure it is Sophie’s mission in life to make me do hills when we are out on our trips, and only herself would find a bliddy hill when it says miles of flat footpaths. 🥴🤣 I so moan whilst I’m going up.
Eventually we found our way back to the visitor centre and sat outside to have a very nice Panini from their café (we are the Panini Queens) and watch the birdies bobbing for crumbs.
All pictures have clickability for embiggeration.
Refs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorpe_Thewles_railway_station
https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/spooky-teesside-13-areas-most-7967686
https://www.teesvalleylocalaccessforum.co.uk/castle-eden-walkway.html
and a few more pictures can be found HERE
Stay tooned for someotherwhere next time! 📷 😊
What a way to gladden my heart! An old stomping ground that I many times cursed as boring, and was often icky and muddy in the winter. Thank you for this! Love the happy bikers. We’ve sat on that bench many a time, and were pretty good at panini chomping too. The bit that intrigues me though is the Celestial Kitchen. I’ve never seen that so am presuming it’s relatively new. The observatory is in Sedgefield at Hardwick Hall country park, I believe?
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There are star gazing events at Hardwick run by the Durham Astronomical Society by appointment but no observatory. There is one at Wynyard Country Park – we just didn’t visit it. Cheers Jo.
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, 🤣💟
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…ooo…”trompsing”…love it!….
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We do a lot of it!
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…I’m taking it as half way between traipsing and tromping….
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More like a meld but I get your drift.
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I hate step hills too. The steps are never the right size for my short legs.
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Sophie is a hill monster! Cheers April.
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Well, that does look like the kind of place I’d like to visit. Like the castle. Disappointed you didn’t see the ghost, but maybe you have to come back at night. And hills are great exercise!
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Don’t think it’s open at night, hills are great exercise but not if you only do them all the time, which I don’t, so they’re death traps to me!
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You can see the ghost in MY haunted railway station! I live in a disused railway station, abandoned since the 1960’s, and the ghost of the station-master walks the beknighted corridors! Fact!
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Oh dear, sorry to hear that. Can’t you get help from the council? There must be help for the homeless in Blanefield?
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Great place. Railways seem to accommodate nature so well. I love the pylon pic !
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Thanks Rich!
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They’re clever utensils, Fraggle, showing the stars and time as they do. Looks like an interesting place.
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It is! Apart from the hill 😬
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🙂 I know what you mean! 🙂
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Even with a wrong turn, what a delightful place to walk. I appropriate the places that have made use of old railways. I laughed when I saw the image identified as the Ghost’s Home. 🙂 But, I absolutely adore the creativity of the Celestial Kitchen. Thanks for the stroll!
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Thanks for the visit! 🙂
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New word trompsing!…I covet that railway bridge…you have such great countryside in the UK, Id love to walk it all, except those steps I hate ’em too. Love the sculpture….a colander constellation, brilliant!
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Thanks Missis!
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Fantastic photos! I love the station house and the brickwork on the bridges is amazing! You even make the pylon look lovely! The sculpture is very interesting – I love the oversized equipment! (so fun!) Thank you for sharing! ❤️
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Cheers Connie!
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I’m a fan of pictures of cows and pylons! And that bridge – they sure knew how to lay bricks in those days. Fun post, Fraggle. You always make me smile. And make we want to go out for a walk.
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Cheers Peter 😊
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I love the art sculptures, and the curved bridge with beautiful brickwork.
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Thanks Jennie!
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You’re welcome, FR!
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I LOVE the kitchen utensils, but I’m surprised to find them there as they really are Texas-size! 🤣
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Haha yes I bet!
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I am infatuated with the Celestial Kitchen…! So much beauty on your adventure, what an incredible day, steep bits and all 😊. Beautiful images, ate them up with that giant ladle ❤️.
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Ah thanks Liza!
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The big kitchen bit statues and stargazing connection are great! That step-hill looks ike a ‘silent killer’ indeed, and I might have turned back and gone the other way. I like pylons, when I don’t have to live near them. Did I ever tell you there was a UK Pylon Appreciation Society? 🙂
There is, and here’s their website. https://pylons.org/
Best wishes, Pete.
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That looks mad, I might have to join!
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I have thought about that myself, I confess! 🙂
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Wow! So many amazing things in one post, Fraggle. I love the curvy bricks of the bridge, and the Celestial Kitchen and related photos. That really is wonderful. Your photos are stunning as always. Hugs on the wing.
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Thanks Teagan
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Ghosts and celestial spoons, a very interesting place to tell stories : D thank you, fragglerocking.
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Cheers Francis!
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Oh, I so want to visit that park! It looks incredible. Sorry about all the hiking you had to do, but I’m jealous. Especially given you got to top the whole thing off with a panini! 😀
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Lunch is always factored into our outings! Cheers Mae!
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Lovely! As a builder early in my life I have nothing but admiration for the wonderful brick bridges that you see all over the UK. I find myself imagining what the worksite must have been like, and the lives of all the construction workers – so different to today, yet so long lived!
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That one is called a skew bridge, or skew arch you’ll probably know about them but there’s a fascinating article on wiki about them. Amazing what I learn about because of photography! Cheers Steve
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I enjoyed the photo of the Chaffinch, a new bird for me! Of course I understand why you mentioned the phrase, “Flat Footpaths!” take care
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Thanks Marland.
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You’re welcome.
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Brickworks are my pylons 🙂
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🤣🤣
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Chaffinch and cows & pylons my favourites this week, Fraggle. Surely there must be some efficient alternative to step hills… well, I’m off to join the pylon appreciation society.
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That’ll set you back £15!
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Really? Is that a one off payment or yearly? Pretty steep, don’t you think? I like pylons, but no one likes them *that* much.
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It’s a yearly thing I think. I guess the lady who runs the site is doing ok on it, seems to have a global membership anyway. I’m going to pass it by, last thing I need in life is an obsession with pylons.
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I am originally a Tees-sider (Hartlepool) but I’ve never been to Wynyard Country Park. It looks a great place. Thanks for introducing me to it.
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Thanks for visiting!
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I just love those clever celestial utensils!
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Pretty cool right? 😊
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Lovely! Makes me want to venture outside. I think I will. Everyone needs a break from movies (even if it’s just a short one LOL).
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Gorgeous photos as always Fraggle, love the giant kitchen pics, brick bridge is very cool, and ghosts! Awesome post, hugs, C
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Thanks Cheryl!
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Nice shots, the Celestial Kitchen is a very cool installation.
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Cheers Stevie!
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