In the Domesday Book of 1086, there is an entry for the village of Eghiston (the homestead of Eghis) which eventually became known as Egglestone.

In 1552, the manor of Egglestone belonged to Charles, the last of the Earls of Westmoreland. He was implicated in the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I in 1569. Found guilty of high treason, his estates were forfeited and the Earl fled to Flanders, dying in exile in 1602. In 1571, the manor of Egglestone was demised by the Crown to Ralph Bares. The manor passed through several owners before being sold by John Child of the Minor Temple in London to Tobias Ewbank of Staindrop in the early part of the 17th Century.

It then passed to the Sanderson family who developed the gardens gaining widespread notoriety. Ownership passed to the Hutchinsons in the early 18th Century, who re-designed and re-built much of the house in the Greek revival style under the guidance of architect Ignatius Bonomi. At the same time the Coach House was built.

The bulk of the funds for the new construction were raised from the profits of the local lead mining industry, as the Hutchinson family had developed a very profitable lead smelting mill just outside the village of Egglestone. The estate was purchased by Sir William Gray, the first baronet, who had made his fortune from the shipbuilding industry in Hartlepool in the early 1920s. The gardens have been re-established over the last twenty years and have a well-deserved reputation for quality and unusual or rare plants.

From the 1970s the Hall became increasingly well known for fine food, a nursery garden of unusual plants and courses on flower arranging and fine cookery. Eggleston Hall, the family home of Sir William and Lady Gray, is a charming Georgian house surrounded by beautifully kept walled gardens with winding paths and lawns. The owners live in a separate wing of the house.

There is a delightful Garden of Tranquillity within the ruins of the 17th Century church on the estate. In the old graveyard, beautifully engraved headstones can be seen dating from the early 18th Century. Amongst the headstones can be found the graves of family dogs and even a parrot.

The market town of Barnard Castle was founded at the site of a Roman ford. The remains of the imposing 12th Century Norman castle, built in 1125 for Bernard de Ballinol, sits high on the cliff above the town and is open to the public.

In the town centre of Barnard Castle (known by locals as simply 'Barney') is the unusual octagonal wooden building built in 1747 and known as the Market Cross, or Butter Market. The world famous Bowes Museum was designed and purpose-built as a public art gallery by the French architect Jules Pellechet in the style of a French château. It opened in 1892 to house the private art collection of John Bowes, Earl of Strathmore, and includes pictures, ceramics, textiles, tapestries, clocks and costumes. The Museum is open every day from 11am to 5pm and has public galleries on three floors.

Rokeby Park, near Barnard Castle is a Palladian style country house, which was the setting for Sir Walter Scott's ballad 'Rokeby'. It houses a unique collection of 18th Century needlepoint pictures, period furniture and unusual Print Room. Open May to September. The medieval Raby Castle, near Staindrop, home to the Barnard Family since 1626, is open to the public from May to September. As well as a tour of the house, visitors can also enjoy the deer park, large walled gardens, coach and carriage collection, woodland adventure playground, picnic area, tearooms and gift shop.

On the edge of Durham city is Crook Hall, a Grade I Listed medieval hall, turret and gallery with haunted Jacobean room and Georgian wing, set in four acres of fine gardens. Newly planted maze and moat pool. The house is open to the public from May to September.

For walkers, the Pennine Way traverses the area with many sites of outstanding natural beauty. High Force Waterfall, England 's highest waterfall, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, thunders 70 feet over massive rocks on the River Tees and has lovely wooded walks and picnic areas.

Near Bowes Village is The Otter Trust, a 230-acre wildlife reserve with British and Asian otters, red and fallow deer, mouflon and rare breeds of farm animals and bird hides overlooking wetland areas. Picnic site, walks, Visitor Centre, tearoom and gift shop. Dogs are not allowed on the site, but there is an exercise area.

There are five large reservoirs near to Eggleston Hall. Grassholme Reservoir has the most fully developed facilities for visitors which include sailing and fishing for beginner and expert alike.