Walks in Newcastle
Alexander IlesA guide to the most attractive, rewarding and beautiful walks in central Newcastle and the landscape beyond.
Our top picks
Jesmond Dene
Jesmond Dene is one of the favourite locations for walks in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne for locals, from relaxing walks through to picnics, people from all over the city travel to enjoy this wonderful Victorian park.
Quayside
The Quayside of Newcastle (and its sister town of Gateshead) is a hugely popular location in the city, featuring seven bridges spanning the impressive river, linking Newcastle to Gateshead and providing scope for many walks and tourist attraction.
Leazes Park
Found between Newcastle’s football stadium St. James Park and the Royal Victoria infirmary – the city centre hospital, Leazes Park is the city’s oldest public park and provides a wonderful range of activities for people in the city centre.
Exhibition Park
Found to the North of the city centre next to Newcastle University Exhibition Park is a place in the city centre known for culture and recreation. At its heart, the park has a beautiful park and Victorian bandstand, boating lake with a wildfowl habitat and the Palace of the Arts – a structure built for the Exhibition of Science, industry and arts in 1929 which gives the park its name.
Ouseburn
If you were walking along Newcastle’s quayside to the east, you would eventually arrive in the Ouseburn. Ouseburn – named after its tributary to the River Tyne – is the alternative cultural quarter of Newcastle. The area is known for it is known for all the things that you can do when you visit.
Armstrong Park
Near Heaton you can find Armstrong Park, which connects Heaton Park with Jesmond Dean. This is one of the smaller parks in Newcastle but has its own beauty and pleasure to it.
Heaton Park Newcastle
Found in the east end of Newcastle, Heaton Park offers fantastic opportunities to explore with woods, beautifully maintained flowerbeds, and wooded areas all in the same park. It is fantastically connected to both Armstrong Park and Jesmond Dene, for those looking to extend their walk around the other parks locally.
Where to go in North East
Sunderland
Thompson Park, Sunderland
Thompson Park in Sunderland provides a local area for sport in the city. If you are looking for outdoor exercise from tennis to bowling, then Thompson Park can provide it.
Sunderland
The Secret Garden – Doxford Park
Doxford Park has a long history with human habitation back to the stone age, though the name of Silkworth comes from a Scandinavian Chief Silki who settled the land and created a community there a ‘worth’.
Sunderland
Roker Park
Roker Park started as Sunderland Association Football Club’s stadium from the club’s founding in 1898 to 1997 when it was demolished and the club moved to the Stadium of Light. The park today has pleasant walks beside creatively planted flower beds awash with colour.
Sunderland
Barnes Park
Considered one of the most popular parks in Sunderland and one of the best walks to experience in the city, Barnes Park is just under two miles long providing a lot of space for people to enjoy.
Sunderland
Mowbray Park
In the heart of Sunderland is Mowbray Park – one of the oldest parks in the North East of England. This beautiful park is wonderfully Victorian, being carefully designed to allow for a pleasant walk and fresh air in the centre of the city, while showing you plans from across the world.
Durham
Auckland Park
Next to Bishop Auckland is the refurbished Auckland project which is now internationally famous for Kynren and the Spanish Gallery, but also has a grand and pleasant park attached to the Castle.
Durham
Old Durham Gardens
With more than three hundred and fifty years of history Old Durham Gardens, less than a mile from the historic city centre of Durham, is a popular location for pleasant walks and relaxation.
Durham
Low Burnhall
A two miles from Durham city and off the historic Great North Road is Low Burnhall – sixty eight hectares of stunning natural beauty; a wonderful natural woodland that ranges from newly planted trees through to ancient British woodlands.
Durham
Frankland Park
Frankland Park is a linear walk though some of the most beautiful ancient woodland in County Durham. Found to the East of Durham on the banks of the River Wear, this walk takes you from the medieval religious house of Kepier Hospital through to the industrial viaduct that brought the trains to Durham.
Durham
Aykley Wood
Found to the North of Durham, Aykley Wood is a nature reserve. Situated next to local housing estates the woods have protected an area of ancient British woodlands in county Durham and ensured that these can be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike.
Durham
Wharton Park
Just behind Durham’s Train station is Wharton Park. The park was created after William Lloyd Wharton inherited the land and decided that Durham needed a public park alongside the railway station.
Newcastle
Heaton Park Newcastle
Found in the east end of Newcastle, Heaton Park offers fantastic opportunities to explore with woods, beautifully maintained flowerbeds, and wooded areas all in the same park. It is fantastically connected to both Armstrong Park and Jesmond Dene, for those looking to extend their walk around the other parks locally.
North East Visitor Guides
Walks in Sunderland
A cultivated array of walks and cultural spaces to visit, with nods to local history, sporting events, landmarks and heritage.
Walks in Durham
A curated guide on where to walk in Durham, featuring riverside routes, easy ambles, sought-out hikes and marked cultural stopping points.
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