Hollinside Manor
Whickham · Gateshead · North East England
A ruined manor above the Derwent Valley, remembered as the Giant’s Castle. Were its larger-than-life residents the beginning of an even bigger story?
Photo: Hollinside Manor by Anthony Foster / Geograph via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Taken 21 February 2014. Shown without cropping, colour changes or overlays.
A small detour with a tall tale.
Hollinside suits a walk with something extra to discover: a roofless medieval home, views over the valley and a story that grew beyond the people who lived here. Build it into a Derwent Valley outing and give the ruins a little time. The interest is in the surviving stonework, the landscape and the folklore they hold together.
Your visit at a glance
Published sources checked 5 October 2026A home built to stand above the valley.
Old Hollinside combines a domestic hall with the substantial stonework of a fortified house. Its position above the valley is part of its character: this was a home designed to make an impression.
A fortified home
The surviving building developed between the late 13th century and around 1400. The manor enters the written record in 1317, when Thomas de Hollinside granted it to William de Boineton and his wife Isolda.
The Giant’s Castle
The Hardings held the property from the 15th century into the 18th. Local heritage interpretation links its striking nickname to the unusually tall men of the family.
What survives today
The manor later became part of the Bowes family’s Gibside estate. Its standing remains are Grade I listed, and the wider site is a scheduled monument. Conservation work in the 1970s and 1980s helped preserve it.
History: Historic England’s scheduled monument record and Land of Oak & Iron.
The giant who built his own castle.
In the tale preserved in Tales of Derwentdale, a giant cut stone in Gibside Wood and carried it on his back to build Hollinside. The family living within its walls became a fearsome presence in the valley.
The story gives the giant a taste for other people’s livestock and a lookout on the tower roof. From there, he could survey the countryside and choose his next raid. In that telling, a fortified home becomes the stronghold of someone much bigger than an ordinary lord.
Stone, strength and buried riches.
The quarry stones
The giant’s building work explains the ruin through extraordinary strength: one figure hauling heavy stone through the landscape.
The watchful tower
The giant’s valley lookout fits the manor’s commanding position. The story turns its setting into part of his character.
The treasure passage
The same collection mentions a supposed underground route to the Derwent containing treasure. Its author says investigation disproved that belief; the passage remains part of the tale.
Folklore: Tales of Derwentdale, “The Giants of Hollinside”, printed pages 96 – 98. This is a record of local tradition.
Give the ruin a place in a wider walk.
Our recommendation is a countryside outing with Hollinside as a stop along the way. Choose the approach before setting off, then allow time to explore the manor’s setting.
A Derwent Valley detour
A suggested visit sequence. Use the published walking guide for route directions.
Choose your approach
Land of Oak & Iron publishes a circuit passing Hollinside and Nine Arches. Read its directions and check the full walk suits your group.
Read the remains
Look for the doorway, window openings and traces of upper floors. Picture a furnished home within these roofless walls.
Look across the valley
Take in the landscape that gave the giant his lookout, then continue towards the viaduct or return by your planned route.
Finding Hollinside
The manor sits above the Derwent Valley near Whickham, east of Nine Arches Viaduct. Directions to the ruin locate the site; they do not identify a suitable driving entrance.
Walking information
The heritage booklet describes a circuit from the Heritage Centre taking in the manor and Nine Arches. Its route includes changes in level, steps and a stile. Allow time for the whole walk alongside your stop at the ruins.
Visitor planning is based on Land of Oak & Iron’s published heritage information and walking booklet. The booklet is an older route guide; check current local notices. Suggested visit duration is ParaMaps’ estimate.
More mysterious places in the region.
Extend your outing with another ParaMaps destination. These are separate stops across the North East; plan the journey between them.
Marsden Grotto
A cave bar beneath the cliffs, coastal views and a smuggler’s haunting tradition. Make it a stop on a wider coastal outing.
Discover Marsden Grotto →Newcastle Castle
Explore the Keep and Black Gate, with prison history, city views and the Poppy Girl haunting tradition.
Discover Newcastle Castle →Follow the walk. Find the Giant’s Castle.
Hollinside earns its place as an interesting detour: medieval walls, a valley view and folklore rooted in the people who once called it home.