Self-Catering Holiday Cottages in Stanhope

Cottages, Apartments & Lodges in Stanhope, County Durham, England

CountryCottagesOnline.Net features holiday home(s) within or close to Stanhope, enjoy browsing through the available options. We hope you find the perfect holiday house for you in Stanhope, County Durham.

Stanhope is in the Land of the Prince Bishop's, if you are interested in history it is a great place to visit. The Norman church is at the centre of the village with good parking opposite in the market place. There is more parking available next to the church at the Dales Centre, which doubles as the tourist information centre. The Dales Centre is also the monthly venue for the Farmers Market (last Saturday of the month). You can also enjoy a number of local craft shops and a coffee in the Dales centre. In the Church yard there is a fossil tree discovered by a local geologist (Mr George Beeston). And behind the market place the turrets of Stanhope Castle can be seen, recently converted into private dwellings.

The castle wall can be followed around on a local walk and a number of unusual objects have been incorporated into the wall to add interest for children to find as they walk along. For example there is a calved stone fish incorporated into the wall. The walk circles round past the Stanhope open air swimming pool, which is next to the play park, river, stepping stones and ford.  There are a number of local walks of varying dificulty, details can be found in the tourist information area in the Dales Centre. Enjoy a stroll and an ice cream! Or take a hike along the Weardale Way.

There are some lovely local gift shops which provide quality work from local artists, along with specialist shops for hikers and antique enthusiats. We have a good choice of food shops including  a traditional butcher, delicious baker, an old fashioned sweet shop, & a well stocked hardware shop, altogether a varied selection of shops set on a pretty village street, underneath the lime trees.

For people enjoying a longer holiday in the area the village offers two hairdressing salons, one with an aromatherapist. There is a good bus service which offers trips away, for example,  the Metro Shopping Centre in Gateshead.

For railway enthusiasts the local steam railway begins at Stanhope and travels 20 miles to Bishop Auckland. The journey passes through some attractive local scenery.

Stanhope is in Weardale, the valley where the river Wear begins its journey to Durham, Chester le Steet and Sunderland. Weardale is part of the North Pennines and is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with heather moors, hill livestock farms and pretty villages scattered along its length.