South Tyneside

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.

Understand
South Shields is the largest town in the borough, with a population of 75,000 in 2021. "Shields" means fishermen's huts, and it stands at the mouth of the River Tyne. The Romans built their fort of Arbeia here, the supply base for their positions along Hadrian's Wall and to the north. There's a sandy beach so in the 19th century the town became a coast resort. It's mostly industrial but further south are cliffs and grassy headlands down the coast towards Sunderland.

Upriver between South Shields and Jarrow is the large dockland of Port of Tyne. This handles North Sea freight, but the ferry terminal is on the opposite bank in North Shields.

Jarrow (2011 population 43,000, including Boldon and Hebburn) had a monastery run jointly with Monkwearmouth in Sunderland: in the 8th century this was home to the Venerable Bede, the first chronicler of English history. Jarrow Hall is an outdoor museum on the site of the monastery. In the 19th century the town was busy with shipbuilding, but this collapsed in the 1930s leading to mass unemployment. The legendary Jarrow March or Crusade of 1936 was a four-week mass march by the unemployed to London to present a petition to Parliament. Nothing much happened as a result, but once World War II broke out the town was busy again.

Hebburn to the west, and Boldon a group of three villages to the south, are industrial and residential. Few visitors will have reason to go there.

Local information

 * South Tyneside Borough Council website

Get in
For long-distance routes by air, rail, bus or ferry see Newcastle upon Tyne.

South Tyneside is on the Metro Yellow Line. This runs every 10-15 min from Newcastle city centre to Gateshead, Heworth, Pelaw, Hebburn,, Bede, Simonside, Tyne Dock, Chichester and. From Newcastle Airport ride the Green Line and change in city centre anywhere up to Pelaw, where that line forks for Sunderland. Reckon a 50-min ride from the airport and 30 min from city centre. North of the Tyne, the Yellow Line loops through Whitley Bay, Tynemouth, North Shields and Wallsend then back to city centre.

The south bank stations are in Fare Zone C so from the airport or Newcastle city centre you need an all-zone ticket. In 2022 an adult single is £3.90 and a day-ticket is £5.70.

is served by the Shields Ferry across the Tyne from North Shields. This carries foot passengers and bicycles and takes 7 min, sailing every 30 min M-Sa 7AM-7:30PM (Th-Sa to 10PM) and Su 10:30AM-6PM. In 2022 an adult single is £2.10 and a day ticket is £3.40. On the far side, Shuttle Bus 333 links the pier to North Shields town centre and Metro station and is included in the ferry fare.

Although Port of Tyne is mostly on the south bank, the overnight DFDS ferries from IJmuiden near Amsterdam dock at the north bank terminal in North Shields.

By road follow A19. At Jarrow this dives into the Tyne Tunnel to re-emerge at Howdon. The toll in 2021 was £1.90: there are no cash booths, pay online by midnight next day. Cyclists and pedestrians must use their own tunnels alongside, see below.

Get around
For 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.

Local buses are operated by Go North East:
 * Buses 5, 26 and 27 zigzag and meander between Hebburn, Jarrow and South Shields, via more industrial and housing estates than you'd think possible.
 * Buses from Durham run every 20-30 min and take 90 min to South Shields: Bus 20 via Sunderland, and Bus 50 via Chester-le-Street,  Washington and Boldon.
 * Bus 9 runs from Sunderland every 30 min to Boldon and Jarrow.

go under the river from Jarrow. Built in 1951, they're 884-ft (270-m) long, and entered by funicular lifts and by the original wooden Waygood-Otis escalators. The tunnels were closed for rebuilding 2013-2019 but are now open 24 hours except Christmas Day, and free to use.

See

 * is at the end of the 5150-ft (1.57-km) pier, completed in 1895. It's just a stubby navigation light, like its counterpart on the north pier from Tynemouth: the long-range lighthouse is Souter, see below. It's complemented at the landward end by Herd Groyne lighthouse, completed in 1867, and resembling the love-child of a Wild West railroad watertower and a Triffid.
 * Marine Park is the pleasant green space between the Roman Fort and the pier. There are sandy beaches and a funfair, see below. On Ocean Rd which bisects the park are the sturdy Lifeboat Memorial and the Tyne Lifeboat of 1833.
 * Westoe a mile south of South Shields is nowadays engulfed by the main town but preserves an attractive village centre with limited vehicle access. It was often the setting for the fiction of Catherine Cookson, but its greatest legacy is the Westoe Netty, a Victorian public toilet, now in Beamish Museum.
 * Westoe a mile south of South Shields is nowadays engulfed by the main town but preserves an attractive village centre with limited vehicle access. It was often the setting for the fiction of Catherine Cookson, but its greatest legacy is the Westoe Netty, a Victorian public toilet, now in Beamish Museum.
 * Westoe a mile south of South Shields is nowadays engulfed by the main town but preserves an attractive village centre with limited vehicle access. It was often the setting for the fiction of Catherine Cookson, but its greatest legacy is the Westoe Netty, a Victorian public toilet, now in Beamish Museum.
 * Westoe a mile south of South Shields is nowadays engulfed by the main town but preserves an attractive village centre with limited vehicle access. It was often the setting for the fiction of Catherine Cookson, but its greatest legacy is the Westoe Netty, a Victorian public toilet, now in Beamish Museum.
 * Memorials to the Jarrow marchers include a steel relief on the facade of Jarrow Metro station, and Spirit of Jarrow, a group bronze statue by Morrison's Supermarket. (Not to be confused with Jarrow Spiritualists, whose church is t'other side of Morrison's car park.)
 * The Leas north of the lighthouse is a grassy headland, and Whitburn Coastal Park to the south is reclaimed colliery land.
 * along A183 was built in 1796 and ground corn until 1896.
 * Whitburn Bents at the south end of Whitburn village is a group of cottages from 1936, on the site of an earlier fishing and farming village. From here the sandy beach stretches south into Seaburn, see Sunderland.
 * , active in the 19th century, is now a ruin in the breezy hills. These were quarried for their limestone; the area is now a nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest.
 * Whitburn Bents at the south end of Whitburn village is a group of cottages from 1936, on the site of an earlier fishing and farming village. From here the sandy beach stretches south into Seaburn, see Sunderland.
 * , active in the 19th century, is now a ruin in the breezy hills. These were quarried for their limestone; the area is now a nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Do

 * Customs House in South Shields has a cinema and theatre and music hall. It's on Mill Dam 200 yards south of the ferry pier, Box Office +44 191 454 1234.
 * Ocean Beach Pleasure Park is in Marine Park at the foot of South Shields pier.
 * Golf: nearby courses are Whitburn Golf Club, South Shields Golf Club and Boldon Golf Club. You can also reach Tynemouth GC via the ferry.
 * South Tyneside Music Festival is held in Bents Park on four Sundays in July.

Buy

 * South Shields: Asda is west of the Metro station, open M-Sa 6AM-midnight, Su 10AM-4PM.
 * Jarrow: Morrisons is in Viking Precinct, open M-Sa 7AM-10PM, Su 10AM-4PM.

Eat

 * South Shields eateries are in town centre around the Metro station and along Ocean Road towards the pier. They include Colman's (see below), The Wouldhave (see below), Mambo Wine & Dine, Tuscano's, Turkuisine, Orange Grass, Clover and Wolf, Bell Passi, Radhuni, Italianish, Pacino's, Kuzey, Zeera and Sambuca.
 * Jarrow has The Sultan on Western Rd; others are just takeaway.
 * Vespa Italian Bar & Steakhouse is on Roman Rd, off Leam Lane A194 west of the junction with A19. It's open M-Sa noon-10PM, Su noon-9PM.
 * Jarrow has The Sultan on Western Rd; others are just takeaway.
 * Vespa Italian Bar & Steakhouse is on Roman Rd, off Leam Lane A194 west of the junction with A19. It's open M-Sa noon-10PM, Su noon-9PM.

Drink

 * South Shields pubs around the Metro station and along Ocean Rd are Ziggy's, Red Door, Life of Riley, The Wouldhave (see Eat), Hogarths, Kirkpatrick's, Arbeia Bar and The Marine.
 * Jarrow has Crown & Anchor, Royal Oak, Ben Lomond, The Queens and Johnnies.
 * Jarrow has Crown & Anchor, Royal Oak, Ben Lomond, The Queens and Johnnies.

Sleep

 * The main cluster of accommodation is on South Shields Ocean Rd toward the seafront.


 * Travelodge Whitemare Pool is at the junction of A184 and Leam Lane.
 * Travelodge Whitemare Pool is at the junction of A184 and Leam Lane.
 * Travelodge Whitemare Pool is at the junction of A184 and Leam Lane.
 * Travelodge Whitemare Pool is at the junction of A184 and Leam Lane.
 * Travelodge Whitemare Pool is at the junction of A184 and Leam Lane.
 * Travelodge Whitemare Pool is at the junction of A184 and Leam Lane.
 * Travelodge Whitemare Pool is at the junction of A184 and Leam Lane.

Connect
As of July 2021, this area has 5G from EE and 4G from the other UK carriers.

Go next

 * Newcastle upon Tyne is the lively city just a 30 min Metro ride away.
 * Sunderland to the south has a 1300-year history of glass-making.
 * Wallsend is the beginning of Hadrian's Wall, but the best sections of wall are to the west of Hexham.