[1] Turn right when you walk out of the car park and follow the road over a small bridge. You will pass houses on your right.
[2] You will see a public footpath sign on your left which will lead you to the wooden 'Green Man' statue. Follow this footpath for a long distance. It will lead you partly along the river which will be on your left.
In wet conditions, this path gets very muddy. Take care.
[3] You will get to the end of the footpath. Turn right up a steep hill and walk up to the end until you reach a gate.
Take care as this hill is steep and is not easy to walk on due to stones.
[4] Go through the gate and turn right to walk along the wall which will be on your right. Follow this path for a distance.
[5] The path will end and there is a gate on your right that will lead you downhill. Follow this path until the end.
[6] Turn left on the wide path and follow it until you get into wooded area again. On your right, you will find a wooden post that says 'Shared Trail'. Right after the post, there is a not too obvious footpath leading downhill through the woods. The way gets more obvious further down. Follow this way downhill.
[7] Shortly before joining a wider path, there is a dip. To join the path easily, turn left and you will find a better way to get down onto the path.
Don't go straight down, find an easier way as it is a wide dip!
[8] Turn left on the path and follow it until the end. You will walk past the wooden 'Green Man' statue at the end.
[9] When you reach the tarmac road again, turn right to return to the starting point.
Hamsterley Forest offers a wide range of outdoor activity to locals as well as tourists. The Trailblazers aim to make the forest a paradise for mountain bikers and developed mountain bike routes with different grading ranging from Green (easy) to Black (expert). There is also Descend, a private mountain bike club with about 170 members who operates mountain bike and downhill courses in the forest.
The Durham Fell Runners are also active in the forest and organise regular events starting from the visitor centre.
Hamsterley Village Hall offers weekly activities such as indoor bowls, Keep Fit, Pilates and Karate.