Amazing woodland walk followed by steep descent to beach. No shop or way of buying water so take more than normal in summer months. DON'T TAKE the river path to the right and ignore all Durham trust information boards which are positioned to mislead you for some reason. Take the left path once it reaches the open as the river path is a workout. Up down up down, i don't know who made it.. You can also see the viaduct once you reach the coast.

Beautiful place. Lots of Snowdrops and a lovely walk down to the beach

Lovely walk though quite a lot of steps up and down along the way, might not be suitable for those with walking difficulties. There is a road that goes adjacent to the Dean down to the cliff top which is an easier route. Once you cross the railway line at the end of the walk you come to the cliff face with a breathtaking view of the sea. There are steep steps down to the shore which we didn't attempt, I'm not sure if there was an easier route down as we didn't explore any further.

Beautiful area for walking lots of routes to enjoy. The ravine walk can be quite muddy and there its lots of steps up and down. You can get all the way down to hawthorn hove beach with views of viaduct. Again lots of steps down to beach bit worth it. Very peaceful. Parking on roadside at the start if lucky will spit the alpacas.

Had a lovely walk at Hawthorn Dene Nature Reserve today. It was muddy underfoot as there had been a lot of rain overnight, this made it a bit slippery in places. Took the lower route with plenty of steps to reach the viaduct & beach - well worth it. Walked back at a higher, more even level & not so muddy. Lots of bird song though didn't see much as the trees were so dense. We parked near the Palomino coffee truck where we enjoyed delicious cakes, coffee & tea after our walk & watched the Alpacas munching their lunch.