Tyne & Wear Sightseeing, Attractions & Activities Guide

recommended places to visit and things to do throughout Tyne & Wear


  • historic house
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  • garden
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • English Heritage
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  • café
  • -
  • shop
  • -
  • architecture
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  • history
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

a wealth of architectural history, with buildings dating from the 14C and a superb 30-acre garden famed for its rhododendrons and unique quarry garden

Down At The Farm

Houghton-le-Spring

  • farm park
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • nature

an open air attraction offering animal interaction and outdoor play in the countryside with a wide variety of animals for llamas to racoons

Jesmond Dene

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

  • nature reserve
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  • family-friendly
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  • free admission
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  • open year round
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  • visitor centre
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  • nature
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  • walking
  • -
  • wildlife

an historic park in the heart of suburban Newcastle. It is a peaceful haven for residents, visitors and wildlife alike

  • historic house
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  • garden
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
  • -
  • National Trust
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  • café
  • -
  • shop
  • -
  • antiques
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  • architecture
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  • art
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  • furniture
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  • history
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  • nature
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  • walking
  • -
  • wildlife

medieval Manor House which was the ancestral home of George Washington, with a tranquil garden and a 'nuttery' - a haven for wildlife

  • art gallery
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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • shop
  • -
  • art

housed in a 1950s grain warehouse, presenting the experience of contemporary art, with no permanent collection and so offering a constantly changing programme of exhibitions and events

Bessie Surtees House

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

  • historic house
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • antiques
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  • architecture
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  • furniture
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  • history

originally rich merchants' houses & shops, 3 rooms are open to the public. Exhibitions about the history include the elopement of Bessie Surtees, an 18C love story

  • museum
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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • limited opening
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  • café
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  • architecture
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  • history
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  • social history
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  • literature
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

set across 11 acres, the visitor can discover the incredible world of Anglo-Saxon Northumbria and the extraordinary life of Bede - the father of English history with plenty of interactive displays and a rare breed farm with rescued animals

  • museum
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  • family-friendly
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  • all-weather attraction
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • shop
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  • history
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  • military history
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  • World War II

North East Englands premier aircraft museum with a restoration workshop which is open to visitors

  • landmark
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  • natural landscape
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  • something different!
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • National Trust
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  • café
  • -
  • shop
  • -
  • architecture
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  • history
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  • maritime heritage
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  • nature
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  • walking
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  • wildlife

first lighthouse to be powered by electricity with a real flavour of a working lighthouse, surrounded by wildflower meadows and great wildlife viewing

AMF Bowling

Washington

  • leisure facility
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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • café
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  • sport

ten pin bowling and electronic games. This venue can be booked for a birthday celebration.

  • museum
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  • ruin
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  • family-friendly
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  • seasonal opening
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  • café
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  • archeology
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  • architecture
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  • art
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  • history

with excavated remains and stunning reconstructions of original buildings and roman artefacts combine to give a unique insight the Romans in Britain during the second to fifth Century

  • art gallery
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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • shop
  • -
  • art
  • -
  • music
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  • photography

vibrant and exciting focus for arts, offering a theatre, gallery, artists' studios, recording studio, licensed bar, rehearsal rooms and function rooms. Offers a year round programme of arts activities

Bluereef Aquarium

North Shields

  • aquarium
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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • café
  • -
  • shop
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  • nature
  • -
  • wildlife

exciting wildlife attraction designed to inspire deeper understanding and appreciation of the natural world. At the heart of the visit there are giant ocean tanks with spectacular underwater walkthrough tunnels

Bowes Railway

Gateshead

  • museum
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  • limited opening
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  • café
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  • shop
  • -
  • history
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  • local history
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  • transport
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  • trains

designed by George Stephenson, the only preserved standard gauge rope-hauled railway in the world featuring two steam engines, diesel locomotives, colliery wagons and an exhibition

Gibside

Newcastle-upon-Tyne

  • park
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  • ruin
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  • family-friendly
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  • open year round
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  • external view only
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  • National Trust
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  • café
  • -
  • shop
  • -
  • history
  • -
  • nature
  • -
  • walking
  • -
  • wildlife

a rare example of an 18th Century landscape garden, a tree lined avenue, pockets of peaceful woodland and adventure play areas