Coastwalk

Howdon → North Shields

Distance: 3.77 miles
Ascent: 73 metres
Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes

Shields Harbour
« Not walked | Whitley Bay »

Our hopes to walk under the Tyne from Jarrow have been scuppered. The pedestrian and cyclist tunnels under the Tyne only opened in 1951, but have been closed for the past five years for extended refurbishment. So we've opened a "gap" in our coastwalk as we took a shuttle bus across the river.

The land on the north bank of the river has been redeveloped faster than the south. Instead of negotiating disused quays and wharfs, there's a maze of marinas and apartment blocks, not quite linked by dead-end roads and a conspicuous lack of thought for through-walkers. The route we took was on slightly higher ground though, giving us a better view of the activity on the river below.

We were soon at the ferry terminal at North Shields, where we were delighted to see that since last coming here in 2013 an "England Coast Path" sign has been erected to welcome circumnavigators crossing the river by boat.

Tomorrow we'll turn our back to the coast and head west across the neck of the country.

Coastwalk

South Shields → Jarrow

Distance: 4.03 miles
Ascent: 64 metres
Duration: 1 hour 11 minutes

A coastal prelude
« Seaham | Not walked »

The observant will have noticed we've not added to the coastwalk this year. Time to rectify that.

Our goal for the coming week is to walk Hadrian's Wall Path, the only one of England and Wales' National Trails that I've not yet completed. The path connects with the coast at the western end, but not at the east. Before we start on the week's walking then, we're heading up-river from the Shields Ferry to the Tyne Tunnels (just a mile and a half from Hadrian's Wall Path's eastern terminus) and back.

The southern bank of the river is out of reach for this stretch, barred by docks and car terminals. There's a moment of relief at Jarrow where a footpath follows the bank of a stream past Jarrow Bridge and the remains of Jarrow Monastery, but even that is short-lived and dominated by electricity pylons. A glimpse of the river follows before it's hidden again behind high steel fences surrounding yet another wharf that's being slowly reclaimed by nature.