The Heritage Way
The Tyne and Wear Heritage Way is an 80 mile route taking in the rich historic and industrial heritage of the area. The route is broken down into nine convenient sections that you can walk at any time, in any order. Each section can be walked in a day.
Visit Causey Arch, the first single span, stone railway bridge in the world and Bowes Railway Museum, the world’s only standard gauge rope-hauled railway.
Contrast the architecture of handsome Washington Old Hall, ancestral home of the family of George Washington, first President of America, with the humble cottage where George Stephenson, the great Railway pioneer, was born.
Pass through wooded valleys and over high ground with distant views. Take in the dramatic coastline near Marsden Rock, the busy Fish Quay at North Shields and walk along waggonways, once teeming with the industrial might of the coal industry.
And everything is only a short distance from the centre of Newcastle and Gateshead.
Click on 'The Route' menu to find out more or pick up a leaflet from one of the many places that hold them, for example, St Mary’s lighthouse; Souter lighthouse; The King’s Arms, Seaton Sluice; Tanfield railway stations; Causey Arch tea room; Land of Oak and Iron Centre; Thornley Woodlands Centre; The Fox and Hounds, Coalburn; and some local libraries.
(Be aware that land use can change and new tracks can appear, particularly where the route crosses farm land. Wherever possible, such alterations to the route are reported in the introduction to each section under Route Updates. The route is not recommended for cyclists: many parts are on footpaths where cyclists cannot legally ride).