Rookhope

Rookhope is a small, picturesque village nestling in its own valley just off the A689 route through Weardale. It’s separation from the main valley has created a strong sense of community among the residents. The village is large enough to have a primary school, Working Men’s club and a small village shop to cover your basic needs with other shops and a range of services at Stanhope (6 miles). A local landmark is the Rookhope Arch at Lintzgarth, a few hundred yards west up the valley; one of the few remaining parts of the two mile (3 km) Rookhope Chimney. This “horizontal” chimney, parallel to the ground, was used to carry poisonous flue gases from the Rookhope lead smelting works up onto the high moor.

The great poet, W.H. Auden, visiting Rookhope in 1919 at the age of 12 described Rookhope as ‘the most wonderfully desolate of all the dales’. In his poem New Year Letter (1941) he wrote that it was in Rookhope that he first became aware of himself as a poet: In ROOKHOPE I was first aware ‘Of self and not-self, Death and Dread…’

The Rookhope Burn cuts through the village which has some lovely walks up into the hills, including the Weardale Way.