6, Durham to Cockfield

Climbing aboard the number 6 bus at Durham Bus Station, there’s a great vibe as the journey makes its way through this historic City’s compact bustle and historic streets. The medieval landscape gives way to more humdrum, but still compelling, leafy residential streets, and soon, Mount Oswald comes into view—a manor house which is now Durham County Council’s The Story Museum. It’s a lovely Grade II listed building with wonderful surrounding parkland.

Every bus stop that is passed offers something different and creates a transfixing view from the window on this journey of contrasts. Onwards the bus glides and the countryside opens up with Tudhoe village coming into view and its Post Office stands near neat cottages and stone walls, with hedgerows curling alongside the road. The land here dips gently into wooded glades, where glimpses of the River Wear flash between the trees.

Next is Spennymoor. The landscape sharpens into a town centre, with Spennymoor High Street buzzing with life. The Town Hall’s clock tower rises proudly, surrounded by elegant independent shops and with a sense of community in the air.

The pace softens again in Middlestone Moor. Rows of red-brick homes slip past, their small gardens dotted with garden gnomes and fluttering laundry. The Middlestone Moor Newsagents sits on a gentle bend, the kind of place where names are remembered and conversations are long.

Soon, scenic lovers reach Bishop Auckland. Newgate Street unfolds in elegant red sandstone, with its mix of Georgian and Victorian façades. There’s life here—buses jostling, street musicians playing near cafes. Catch a glimpse of Auckland Castle in the distance, and the town’s recent cultural renaissance hums just below the surface – there’s a real sense of occasion in this fantastic place.

Leaving the town behind, the road winds into open fields, grazing sheep, and big skies. In West Auckland, the village green unfurls like a postcard, framed by historic pubs and the storied Old Hall. The village is situated on low lying land between the River Gaunless and the Oakley Beck and it showcases some fascinating architecture from the 19th and 20th centuries, circling the lovely green.

Evenwood brings a steeper climb, with even more delightful sweeping views across the valley. It feels tucked away, the houses scattered, the land beginning to rise.

Finally, Cockfield greets you with its rugged charm and nestled in the Durham Dales. Stone terraces cling to the hilltop, watching over wild moorland and the famous Cockfield Fell, which is a vast expanse of common land and one of the largest scheduled ancient monuments in Britain. It was once a hub for coal moaning and is now a haven for walkers and wildlife lovers. The wind feels stronger here. The landscape is vast, and the silence deeper, with the sense of ambience heightened by the fact that this location is home to ancient mining remains, including bell pits and spoil heaps – testimony to Cockfield’s magnificent industrial heritage. The journey ends with a sense of having travelled through layers of time, one after another, all the way from delightful Durham.