Preston Park and Teesdale Way: Walk with Bob Woodhouse

There is something of interest for all age groups at Preston Park Museum and the surrounding parkland while the Teesdale Way offers the chance to round off a visit with a stroll through different settings

Starting from the entrance to Preston Hall we walk in a northerly direction to reach a hedgerow and continue around the left hand bend, with hedge on our right. We soon pass a metal fence with the bandstand and walled garden on our right.

A footpath sign then directs us to the right, with Ingleby Barwick 2½ miles ahead, and we walk between trees with the small gauge railway track on our left side and a brick built cottage close at hand on our right.

At the junction of routes we follow the lower path, on our left, down the slope and at the next junction we bear right, towards Ingleby Barwick.

The next section of our route runs downhill before an uphill stretch offers distant views of Roseberry Topping and the Cleveland Hills.

After turning left along the next track we catch sight of traffic on Queen Elizabeth Way and a pond and pipe bridge across the Tees.

Continuing down the slope we pass a sign for Tees Heritage Park and Preston Farm Nature Reserve before turning left at the sign post marked “Stockton 2 miles”.

As we continue along Queen Elizabeth Way the buildings of an industrial estate cover ground on our left and at the roundabout we turn left along Concorde Way. We soon cross Lockheed Close and make our way ahead across another roundabout to the junction with the A135 Yarm Road where we turn left towards Eaglescliffe and Yarm.

After crossing Preston Lane on our left we can make out houses at Moor House estate away on our right and opposite Pennypot Farm we bear left to make our way back into Preston Park.

North Lodge stands beside the wide pathway on the left and there are views of the hall directly ahead as we follow the level route back to our starting point in front of the building.