Barnard Castle is a market town of stone houses on a hill above the River Tees, at the foot of Teesdale. Its ruined castle stands on the cliff above the river, and the broad main street runs up from it to an octagonal market cross of 1747.
The great surprise is the Bowes Museum, a French chateau built on the edge of town in the 1860s to hold the art collection of John and Joséphine Bowes. The town is also the gateway to Upper Teesdale and the North Pennines, with the waterfall of High Force half an hour up the dale. Riverside walks lead to the ruins of Egglestone Abbey, a mile downstream.