Hardwick Park Walking, Cycling and Horse Riding Routes

About

A 1 mile historical circuit walk, a 1.4 mile circular cycle route and a 0.5 mile horse-riding route around the scenic Hardwick Park Country Park.

In the 18th century, John Burdon set about transforming the Hardwick Estate into his own pleasure grounds. To help him achieve his vision he employed James Paine, a leading architect of the time. Their aim was to create a garden that, although heavily engineered, was meant to look completely natural. It was a far step from the formal gardens of the past. Paine created ornamental buildings, ‘ruins’, lakes and woodland which looked like they had always been part of the landscape. Even the Serpentine
was created to look like a river flowing through the Park.

Hardwick Park was cleverly designed so that at certain points on the Circuit Walk, the visitor was greeted with a fresh and exciting view of the park. Today you can follow in Burdon’s footsteps by doing the Circuit Walk shown on the download on the Park's website.

This route passes near to the following Taste Durham establishments:
Hardwick Hall Hotel - Rib Room Steakhouse & Grill.

Route supplied by Durham County Council’s Countryside Service.

**There are a number of accessible parking bays at the park. The visitor centre is fully accessible for people with disabilities and the circuit walk is accessible to visitors of all abilities.**