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Metropolitan borough in Tyne & Wear, England
Photo: Tine.wv, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
South Tyneside is a borough in Tyne and Wear in northeast England, with a population in 2021 of 148,000. It's a series of towns that have been industrial since the Middle Ages, and that historically lay in County Durham. In 1974 they were gathered together as a new borough, while similar towns across the river were formed into North Tyneside, and along with Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Washington they all formed the new metropolis of Tyne and Wear.
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Site of a large Roman fort: the west gatehouse, barracks and commander's quarters have been reconstructed. This was the supply base for Hadrian's Wall, which began at Wallsend on the north riverbank and marched westward up hill down dale to the Solway beyond Carlisle. It was also the depot for expeditions further north against the Picts or Scots. "Arbeia" means "of the Arabs". In the 2nd and 3rd century it was garrisoned by recruits from Singara, now Sinjar in Iraq. One grave monument mourns the British wife of Barates, a merchant from Palmyra in Syria. Another commemorates Victor, a young Moorish freed slave. Castra canis amica est: the fort is dog-friendly.
Council-run museum featuring collections and artifacts of Catherine Cookson (1906-1998), the prolific author of historical romances. The art collection mainly has 19th and 20th century work by British artists, with an emphasis on local subjects.
National Centre for the Written Word
The municipal library houses this cultural centre with exhibitions and events around the written word.
formerly Bede's World
Depicting the life and times of the monastic author the Venerable Bede (672-735). There's a museum, a replica Saxon farm and village, the Georgian hall and herb garden, and the ruins of Bede's monastery now within the grounds of St Paul's Church.
This lighthouse, completed in 1871, was the first to use AC electricity, from its own generator. It closed in 1988 without being automated, so its living arrangements are well-preserved. Climb the 76 steep steps up to the light and see for miles on a clear day. St Mary's is the equivalent lighthouse north of the Tyne. One of the keepers' cottages shows early 20th-century household life, and the others are available as holiday lets.
Grand seafood and views.
Fish & chips restaurant, which has existed since 1926, also offering takeaway.
JD Wetherspoon's pub, reliable choice for food and drink. William Wouldhave was a boat-builder who helped design the self-righting lifeboat, after a capsizing of 1849 cost the lives of 20 local lifeboatmen.
Pub with food in a cave right on the beach, blasted out of the cliffs by an 18th century smuggler. They also have rooms. Accessed by a spiral stair or achingly-slow lift down the cliff, so it's not suitable for mobility-impaired smugglers.
Small brewery opened in 2019 with an eccentric range of beers: "You don't walk past a £10 monkey and not buy it", "People are only wolves until wolf shit needs doing", "After the third pint we ended up putting knickers on the dog" and more. No tours, they sometimes have entertainment in the taproom, and the shop keeps the same hours.
Best Western
Simple seafront chain hotel, mixed reviews.
Clean comfy welcoming guest house.
Simple hotel, many fittings worn and tatty. No street parking. Sir William Fox (1812-1893) was born here and had four spells as prime minister of New Zealand.
Basic but cheerful B&B, shared bathrooms.
Reliable budget chain. Free parking.
formerly Quality Hotel
Decent chain hotel handy for motorists.
J Barbour and Sons were founded in 1894 in South Shields and still have their headquarters and manufacturing here, though stuff is also made elsewhere. They make mid- to upmarket outdoor wear, and their signature product is the waxed raincoat. It's waterproof, windproof, robust and stylish, with deep interior and exterior pockets, and chunky two-way zip; it's not thickly insulated so in cold weather you need a woolly pully or Barbour sleeveless quilted jacket beneath it. The products are good value for the years of life you should get from them: eventually the wax protection wears off but it can be replaced. They've kept the branding upmarket (avoiding Burberry's descent into hooli-wear and mockery) so you can wear it to the park and imagine you share the grouse-moor good looks of its catalogue models; why even your enuretic pooch will stand comparison with their smart gun-dogs. You can buy in many retail stores and online, but the factory outlet has knowledgeable helpful staff.
For long-distance routes by air, rail, bus or ferry see Newcastle upon Tyne.
Read in the guideFor local destinations within Fare Zone C you only need a one zone ticket, so (as of 2021) a single is £2.10 and a day-ticket is £3.30. On the Metro this covers from Hebburn out to South Shields.
Read in the guideChoose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear · International · NCL
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