Best mountain biking trails in Durham, England

A circular walk close to Middleton-in-Teesdale in County Durham, within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The walking route begins from the Bowless Visitor Centre and follows a route to visit three beautiful waterfalls. The first is Summerhill Force on Bow Lee Beck, whilst the second and third are both on the River Tees, Low Force and High Force. As if these stunning waterfalls are not enough, you will also enjoy a pretty riverside section of the Pennine Way with views across flower-rich moorlands, plant-rich wooded valley slopes and upland pastures along the way. The walk includes several climbs and descents throughout, including several steep flights of stone steps. The paths are a mixture of stone paths and tracks, rocky uneven paths (which can be slippery when wet) and grass field paths (which can get muddy). The outward leg to reach High Force includes gates, footbridges and steps and crosses just one sheep pasture (with no stiles and with all other pastures being fenced away from your path). The return leg crosses two stiles (one stone stile and one wooden stile with wire fence surround, so dogs would need a lift over) and also crosses several livestock pastures. These pastures hold mainly sheep with a handful of cattle in a couple of them – the cattle seems very relaxed with dogs, but if you prefer to avoid the stiles and cattle you can simply retrace your outward route for the return leg instead. The access path for High Force is a private path with an entrance fee (£1.50 for adults and 50p for children) and is open 10am-4pm with dogs on leads welcome, but you can exclude this part of the route if you prefer not to pay. Allow 2.5 hours. Show more

A circular and fairly challenging woodland walk around Hamsterley Forest near West Auckland in County Durham. Hamsterley Forest is managed by the Forestry Commission and is a lovely varied environment to explore, with pine forest, mixed woodland, babbling becks, open areas of gorse and bracken and flower-rich grass verges. The high points of the walk provide you with beautiful far-reaching views whilst the various habitats are home to plenty of wildlife. You might even glimpse a Gruffalo along the way! The walk includes several climbs and descents throughout including some steep sections. The route follows a mixture of stone tracks, tarmac access lanes plus some steep sections of unmade woodland path which may be muddy, rocky and uneven with tree roots in several places. There are no stiles, livestock or gates on route, but you will need to negotiate some flights of steps and footbridges. Dogs are welcome in the forest; they need to be on leads for the stretch closest to the visitor centre but then well-behaved dogs are welcome to have more freedom. You will be sharing a few of the paths with cyclists and your route also crosses a couple of vehicle access roads, so take care with children and dogs. There are toilets and a cafe at the start and end of the walk. Allow 2.5 hours. Show more

Situated south of Crimdon, the Hart Warren Dunes is a stunning area of calcareous grassland and dune system which has many rare plants and animals.The dunes are prized for their wildlife value and also for their extensive sea views. It is the only calcareous dune system of any significance in the British Isles and is home to flora and fauna alike, including many beautiful and regionally rare orchids. During the summer months you may be lucky enough to see the endangered Durham argus butterfly and this is one of the few places in Hartlepool where you can still find the common lizard. Of particular interest is a colony of little tern, who nest in the northern extremity of the site at Crimdon. The area is fenced annually to protect the nesting site. The birds arrive in April and nest on the foreshore in shallow scrapes just above the high tide line. Their return flight to West Africa usually begins at the end of August. Lastly, the site contains a number of anti-invasion defences dating back to the Second World War. There is limited access to Hart Warren Dunes due to the nature of the site. Access is possible either by approaching the site along the beach from Crimdon to the north or the Headland to the south. Alternatively, there is a Public Right of Way which accesses the area via the footbridge on the Hart to Haswell Walkway, along which you bike on this route. Show more