Weardale

Weardale is a dale, or valley, of the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, in England. Its principal villages include St John's Chapel, Stanhope, and Wolsingham. The River Wear flows through Weardale before reaching Bishop Auckland and then Durham, meeting the sea at Sunderland. Running roughly parallel to Weardale to the south is Teesdale. The Wear Valley local government district covers much of the valley. From 1894 to 1974 there was a Weardale Rural District.

Weardale was historically important for lead mining, and there is a lead mining museum incorporating the preserved Park Level Mine at Killhope [1] (pronounced "Killup"). There is also a large cement works at Eastgate which is currently being decommissioned. The major industry in Weardale is now cattle and sheep farming.

Weardale had a railway open as far as Wearhead for a brief period in the 19th century, but the section of the line above Eastgate soon closed due to the decline of the lead industry. The remaining line was kept open by cement traffic until the 1990s, after which it was taken over by the Weardale Railway Project. Passenger services recommenced briefly in 2004, but in 2005 the project went into administration, which is believed to be temporary.