A short way from the start at Market Cross lie the ruins of the castle high above the foaming River Tees. The castle dates from the 12th century, and the oldest standing section is Balliol Tower built from sandstone over 700 years ago (its name coming from its founder, Guy de Balliol, Lord of Bailleau in France, while his successor Bernard de Balliol gave the town its name).
The castle itself — once one of the largest in England — has a long and turbulent history, for a time being home to Warwick the Kingmaker (who met his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485). During the Middle Ages, servants from the castle were allowed to graze their animals on common ground known as Demesnes.
Abbey Bridge at the south-east end of the walk, with its magnificent balustrade, was built in 1773, while County Bridge (Bridgegate) spans the River Tees below the castle (a bridge has forded the river here for nearly 700 years, and a small chapel used to stand in the middle where eloping couples were married). Downstream of County Bridge there used to be woollen mills, carpet factories, and workshops of glove makers, tanners, stocking makers, and dyers along the river banks (thriving 19th-century industries whose prosperity is reflected in fine Georgian buildings).
Egglestone Abbey is reached after crossing Thorsgill Beck by Bow Bridge, a cobbled 17th-century packhorse bridge. The abbey, now in ruins, was founded in 1190; Henry VIII dissolved the monastery in 1536, though original and later buildings are still visible. Standing in glorious surroundings, the site buildings are protected as a Scheduled Ancient Monument maintained by English Heritage with free admission.
Back in Barnard Castle and beyond the river stands the Bowes Museum, opened by John Bowes and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier in 1892 to house fine art objects collected throughout their philanthropic lives. Collections include early works by French glassmaker Émile Gallé commissioned by Joséphine, and a great attraction is the 18th-century Silver Swan automaton which periodically preens itself, looks round, and appears to catch and swallow a fish.
It is a short walk from the Bowes Museum back to the starting point at the Market Cross (an octagonal building that has been a town hall and a gaol). Nearby is Blagraves House, one of the oldest buildings in the town.
Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.
