Durham to Darlo via Bishop Auckland
Description
The route away from Durham follows a railway path to the outsirks of Bishop Auckland. This is mainly on a wide cruch stone path of good quility. It cross many roads, but the control gates are designed to slow you down rather than hinder.
There is an on street route through town, which is well signed. Returning to more off road paths, the quality is much lower, with very narrow sections.
Quite country lanes take over as the dominant surface, with route 165 being exclusivly on road.
With the exception of the very steep climb out of Durham, teh route is suprisingly flat.
On the whole the signage is excelent. There a couple of places where I had to check the map to find the route. On two occasions I missed a turn becasue there was no sign. Having the GPX route on my phone saved me from a detour or a long back track.