Hownsgill Viaduct

Hownsgill Viaduct was built by Thomas Bouch between 1857 and 1858 as part of the Stanhope to Tyneside Railway line. The line carried iron ore, lead and limestone to Consett.

Stretching gracefully across the Hownsgill Valley, this 19th-century railway viaduct looks more like something from a Victorian dream than a relic of heavy industry.  Built in the 1850s to carry coal trains high above a wooded gorge, the red brick arches now serve walkers and cyclists instead of locomotives.

At over 150 feet tall and nearly 700 feet long, it’s a masterpiece of quiet ambition.  Broad, balanced, and improbably elegant.  The views from the top sweep across the green folds of County Durham, with the old steel town of Consett behind you and endless countryside ahead.  It’s one of those rare places where you can stand on the bones of the Industrial Revolution and still feel entirely at peace.