Going off the farm Bowes village is about five minutes drive to the East where Charles Dickens stayed and featured in his book Nicholas Nickleby. The Bowes Museum and market town of Barnard Castle are fifteen minutes away, with High Force (the highest waterfall in England) about thirty minutes on from Barnard Castle.

We are situated in the North Pennine Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with magnificent views, a lot of bird life and wildflowers such as the Blue Gentian and the Teesdale Violet. In Teesdale there are marked walks along the Tees for those interested in wildflowers. You also have the circular walks round Bowes village.

The drive over the moor to Alston is magnificent especially in good weather as is the drive to Keld via Tan Hill and to Arkengarthdale. A short drive again with lovely views is over the Stang (from the A66 at the foot of Lamb Hill signposted to Reeth) to Arkengarthdale.

A day out on the Lakes is also possible from here and a trip on one of the pleasure boats on Ullswater makes a very enjoyable day out.

Going about an hour to the North over the moors you come to Hadrian's Wall with all it's points of interest.

Famous People:

Close to hand Charles Dickens spent time in both Bowes and Barnard Castle, you will find a leaflet on him in this folder. Other famous people include Hannah Hauxwell who made the magnificent scenery of Baldersdale famous. Oliver Cromwell stayed at Blagrave House in Barnard Castle and Sir Walter Scott stayed at Rokeby Hall just outside Barnard Castle. He enjoyed his stay there so much that he wrote a poem called ‘Rokeby’.

A little further away Beatrix Potter lived at Hill Top near Sowerby (Cumbria) and William Wordsworth lived at Cockermouth.

Within about an hour from us you have Washington Manor built by the ancestors of George Washington, 1st. President of the U.S.A and is now a place of pilgrimage for American visitors.

For those interested in legends Allerton Castle was built by Prince Frederick, Duke of York who legend has march his men to the top of the hill and marched them down again to build the folly on top of the mound.

George Stephenson (the inventor of the steam engine) was borne near Gibside, near Newcastle, and his house is open for visitors who enjoy a pleasant walk to get to it along a path which was the old railway that Stephenson used for his engines.

Museums:

You have the Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle, the mine museum at Nenthead, the car museum at Keswick and the railway museums at Darlington and Shildon.

Going further afield there is the Baltic Centre and the Hancock Museum at Newcastle. Then of course there is the National Railway Museum and the Castle Museum in York along with the Jorvic Centre also in York.

Another well known museum is Beamish, a working museum of life from 1835 to 1913, which is about an hour from Mellwaters. It is a great day out for all the family.

Castles and Cathedrals:

We have the ruined Roman fort at Bowes and the castle ruins, which you can go round, at Barnard Castle. You also have Raby Castle – the home of Lord Barnard – at Staindrop with all its attractions.

Durham Cathedral in its stunning position above the River wear is very popular with our visitors as is York Minster.

Walkers and Birdwatchers:

For walkers there are numerous walks in Teesdale with circular walks round Bowes (details are available in the office), walks along the River Tees, along the old railway line to Cotherstone and on to Middleton in Teesdale, and of course the Pennine Way.

There are a wide variety of birds on the farm (a list of birds seen on the farm is available in the office) and in the surrounding countryside with Black Grouse on the moor around Tan Hill and towards Cotherstone.

Anglers and Golfers:

If you enjoy a round of golf there are several golf courses in this area including Barnard Castle, Richmond and Catterick. For the angler the Northumbrian publication ‘Go Fishing’ gives a good idea of places to visit.