Armstrong Park
Alexander Iles
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. It has an abundance of native British trees and has been recorded as a wood for centuries – oak, elm, beach ash and sycamore are all visible and enjoyed by walkers, cyclists and runners enjoying their exercise. The Park also has a special significance for University students – the ‘Shoe Tree’ has hundreds of pairs of shoes hanging in its branches, with students once they have finished their exams tying their laces together and throwing them into the tree – giving it an incredibly unique look. Alongside this Armstrong park also has historic monuments that you can discover on a walk – a post-medieval watermill (restored in 2011 with heritage lottery funding) is visible and for the more adventurous, King John’s Well can be discovered – a spring that once supplied King John’s Palace (a fortified manor house in Heaton Park) with water. While it is one of Newcastle’s smaller parks, Armstrong Park has its own special magic to it.
