Barnard Castle is a small market town in County Durham in North East England. It has a picturesque ruined castle and the over-the-top Bowes Museum. Dickens, Wordsworth, JMW Turner, Defoe and Sir Walter Scott were all inspired here. A more infamous admirer of the view was Dominic Cummings the chief advisor to the prime minister, who in May 2020 drove some distance to Barnard Castle during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. He said it was to test his eyesight.

Get in

Turner's 1825 painting of Barnard Castle

By car

Barnard Castle is just north of the A66 trans-Pennine trunk road. The A688 runs northeast to Durham, and A67 runs west to join A66 towards Penrith and the Lake District.

At the south edge of town, there is a narrow bridge on A67 with a sharp turn. Heavy vehicles are not permitted (it's enforced by traffic cameras) and cars with caravans or trailers must take great care not to strike the bridge walls.

There is a large "pay and display" car park at Morrisons supermarket. You can park free on the cobbles in the town centre, but not on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings which are market days. Parking is seldom a problem.

By train

There's no railway here - the nearest is Darlington on the London King's Cross-York-Newcastle mainline. Arriva North East Bus X75 runs from Darlington M-Sa hourly, Su every 2 hours. It takes 50 min via A67 through High Coniscliffe, Piercebridge, Gainford, Winston and Staindrop.

By bus

Scarlet Band Bus 84 also runs four or five times M-Sa from Darlington, taking an hour via Mowden, Ingleton and Staindrop.

Bus 85 runs every couple of hours M-Sa between Barnard Castle, Staindrop, West Auckland and Bishop Auckland.

Bus 95 / 96 runs four or five times M-Sa up the Tees Valley from Barnard Castle to Lartington, Cotherstone, Romaldkirk, Mickleton and Middleton-in-Teesdale.

There are no buses further west along A67 towards Bowes village on A66. The main bus stand is outside the Commercial Hotel on Galgate, the main thoroughfare.

Get around

Walk. Bus 71 trundles around town every couple of hours, but you're unlikely to use it.

See

• 1 Barnard Castle, Scar Top DL12 8PR, ☏ +44 1833 638212. Daily 10AM-6PM. Was it really worth so many fights between the Scots, Normans and Prince Bishops over this? The setting is grand, overlooking the river and bridge, and many authors have been inspired by its prospect and turbulent history. But it's hard to disagree with the 17th-century new owner, awarded it by the Crown for not being treasonous like the previous owner, who took one look and decamped to Raby Castle 8 miles east in Bishop Auckland. Adults £7.60, child £4.60, conc £6.90. (updated Jun 2020)
• The bridge over River Tees dates to 1771. It's often busy with traffic so the best views are from the river bank below.
• The Market Cross (or "Butter Market") dates from 1747.
• 2 Bowes Museum, Newgate DL12 8NP, ☏ +44 1833 690606. Daily 10AM-5PM. This grandiose late 19th-century concoction, County Durham's best attempt at recreating the Louvre, holds blingy fine art by the metric tonne: El Greco, Goya, ceramics, tapestries, Canaletto, jewels, and on and on it goes. Be there for 2PM, when a mechanical silver swan whirrs into life, craning and preening its feathers then trying to catch a fish. Adult £14, child £5, conc £12. (updated Jun 2020)
• 3 Deepdale Wood is an ancient woodland along the stream that joins the Tees. Deepdale and its footpath go west, while Ray Gill is a little to the north, with a link path so you can make a circular walk.
• 4 Egglestone Abbey, Abbey Lane DL12 9TH. Daily 10AM-6PM. This was a Premonstratensian abbey built in the late 12th century, knocked about by visiting armies, and after Dissolution much of its masonry was re-used elsewhere. What's left is a picturesque ruin on the river bank. Free, but parking £2. (updated Jun 2020)
• 5 Rokeby Park is a grand neo-Palladian villa built in 1735, but it's only open by arrangement to group tours. It was from 1813 the home of the Velasquez painting now known as "The Rokeby Venus". In 1906 the original painting was acquired by the National Gallery (and in 1914 slashed by a suffragette) while Rokeby Hall holds a copy.

Do

The mechanical swan preens itself and tries to catch a fish

• 1 Barnard Castle Golf Club, Harmire Rd DL12 8QN, ☏ +44 1833 631980. 18-hole round £15. (updated Jun 2020)
• Teesdale Leisure Centre, Strathmore Rd DL12 8DS (off Harmire Rd), ☏ +44 300 026 0862. M-F 8AM-10PM, Sa Su 10AM-5PM. Gym, pool, sports hall, climbing wall, various drop-in fitness classes. (updated Jun 2020)
• Walk, cycle or horse-ride along the old railway track up the Tees valley. From Barnard Castle follow B6277 or the Ray Gill path northwest to Lartington to pick up the trail, which takes you through Cotherstone, Romaldkirk and Mickleton to Middleton.
• Walk the Pennine Way which passes some miles west of town, see Middleton-in-Teesdale for trail notes.
• Manufacture live-saving medicines at GSK, who have a large development and production facility at the north edge of town. The site was used to make penicillin back in the 1940s. This complex was built in 2016, and among its many products are an antibody treatment for lupus, a muscle relaxant to aid endotracheal intubation, a treatment for anthrax lesions, and a long-acting suspension against HIV.

Buy

• The Farmers Market is on the first Saturday of the month 9AM-3PM on Horsemarket. Feb and Mar it's inside the Witham, Apr-Dec it's outdoors, none in Jan.
• Morrison's Supermarket is at 23 Galgate, open M-Sa 7AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM.

Eat

• Eating places include Blagraves House, Capri, Bengal Merchant and Babul's, plus a sprinkling of takeaways.

Drink

• Pubs along main drag are The Bluebell, The Old Well Inn, Golden Lion and Firkin Alley, with Cricketers' Arms a little further north.

Sleep

• 1 Teesdale Barnard Castle Caravan Site, Lartington Lane DL12 9BD, ☏ +44 1833 637999. Open Feb-Oct with 76 tourer pitches but no campsite. Pitch £16. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 Barnard Castle Camp Site, Dockenflatts Lane DL12 9DG, ☏ +44 1833 630228. Open Mar-Oct with 90 pitches. Pitch £12, hook-up £18. (updated Jun 2020)
• Coach and Horses, 22 Galgate DL12 8BH, ☏ +44 1833 908179. Marston's pub with rooms. B&B double £55. (updated Jun 2020)
• 3 Three Horseshoes Hotel, 7 Galgate DL12 8EQ, ☏ +44 1833 631777. Hotel in old coaching inn. Two suites, The Stables and The Carriage House, are a little distance away, as is the free car park. B&B double from £90. (updated Jun 2020)
• B&Bs are strung along A67 Galgate going northeast out of town.
• 4 Rose & Crown, Romaldkirk DL12 9EB, ☏ +44 1833 650213. Pleasant country inn, dogs welcome. B&B double from £120. (updated May 2021)

Connect

As of Jan 2024, Barnard Castle and its approach roads have 4G from EE, O2 and Vodafone, and 5G with Three.

Go next

The main routes lead northeast to charming Durham, west to the Lake District, and south into Yorkshire: see especially Ripon and York.

The B-road up the Tees valley northwest passes Middleton-in-Teesdale, High Force waterfall, then crosses the moors towards Hadrian's Wall.