Brandon Travel Guide

 maykal Says:  Don't do what we nearly did and stop at the driveway to the castle. We thought we might have been trespassing, and were half expecting some eccentric aristocrat to take potshots at us with an antique rifle...but this is actually a right of way as the castle drive leads to... 

 maykal Says:  I was surprised by this well hidden stone castle. From the road, the only signpost is for a golf course, so you wouldn't know that a Norman castle lurks beyond the anonymous gate. From outside, it looks like private property, but there's nothing to stop you wandering down... 

 maykal Says:  Brancepeth is an old village of twee cottages and affluent mansions spread out on either side of the main road. While hurtling through on a bus, blink and you'll miss it...but if you're walking along the path in the above tip, take my advice and make a small diversion. Not... 

 maykal Says:  For about 100 years, trains used to rattle along here between Bishop Auckland and Durham, passing some of the largest collieries in the county. But all that came to a halt in the 1960s, with the decline in mining and the closure of many pits. Instead of letting the tracks...