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Walk No.1 - Durham Riding via South Road - page 2 of 3
	Picture left: Take the right hand fork along the side of St Matthew's R.C. Club Picture below: The R.C. Church, dedicated to Our Lady and Saint Cuthbert.
Go past Far Town House and Quarry House to Highfield Lane. Follow this for approximately 100 yards. On the right is the R.C. Church, dedicated to Our Lady and Saint Cuthbert. This church was built on the present site in 1904, having been moved stone by stone from its previous location on the Prudhoe Hall Estate. On the left is the entrance to Highfield Lane housing estate and a few yards further on is a gate to a well defined footpath across a field (3). Follow this footpath, a fairly gentle climb.
At the top there is a stile at which you can rest (4). Turn and look at the impressive scenery of the Tyne Valley from Hexham in the west, then to the north the villages of Ovingham and Ovington, then Wylam, Horsely, Heddon-on-the-Wall and on to the surburbs of Newcastle far away to the east. On clear days, further to the north, the Cheviot Hills are visible some 50 miles distant.
Continue to the top of the rise (5). There are extensive views of the hills and woodland to the south. During suitable weather you may see gliders from the Northumbria Gliding Club gracefully manoeuvring in the sky.
After another 300 yards you pass through a gateway. The route then follows a diagonal pathway to the right, across a field. If the field contains crops it may be necessary to skirt around the edge of the field. By using the corner of Hyons Wood as an aiming point, you will reach the 'kissing gate' in the far corner of the field. From here a path leads downhill and, via another stile, to Durham Riding Farm (6).
The farm at Durham Riding (see picture overleaf) is on land that was once the property of the Prince Bishops of Durham, a portion of the old Fulcherside Common. The original buildings, linked in a linear fashion, comprised an 18th century model farm. A stone over the front door of the original house bears the date 1771. It was built as a model farm; an example of efficiency and productivity. The layout of the buildings and the strategic position of the water troughs were all carefully designed. After some years of neglect the buildings have been modernised and are now private dwellings. The dovecote at the eastern end is a listed building.