VILLAGERS past and present from Escomb and Witton Park are invited to follow in the footsteps of the Prince Bishops to celebrate the creation of a new pathway.

The Escomb and Witton Park Heritage Trail will be opened on Sunday afternoon with a group walk around the four-mile route.

Escomb and Witton Park Community Partnership worked with Bishop Auckland and District Angling Club, which owns the fishing lakes and much of the land the path is on, to create a circular pathway linking the two villages.

The route, which passes the fishing lakes at Escomb and Paradise nature reserve at the former Witton Park ironworks, follows stretches of the ancient Bishops' path along the River Wear, which was used for hunting trips.

Walkers are asked to meet at the fishing club's lodge in Escomb at 1.45pm to join the walk, which is expected to take about two hours.