Eshott

Gosforth Park Nature Reserve

North Gosforth · 8.7 miles

Extensive woodland, wet carr and reed-dominated wetlands provide breeding grounds for species such as reed warbler, water rail and reed bunting, while winter brings birds like bittern, kingfisher and shoveler. Aquatic mammals including otter, water vole and water shrew are recorded, and the site supports England’s second-largest colony of coralroot orchid. The semi-natural forest, chiefly oak and birch with some conifer plantings, hosts mammals such as badger, fox, roe deer, stoat and a remaining population of red squirrel, alongside a diverse invertebrate community that includes nationally rare beetles and solitary bees. A small meadow adds heather and northern marsh orchid to the botanical mix. The reserve lies within the historic Gosforth Park estate in Tyne and Wear, north-east of the Whitebridge Park housing estate and close to the former village of North Gosforth. Medieval ridge and furrow evidence points to its agricultural past; the Brandling family later landscaped the area, creating a lake between 1810 and 1820 and planting much of the woodland in the mid-19th century. After the estate was sold in the late 19th century, the Natural History Society of Northumbria acquired shooting rights in 1924 and assumed full management in 1929, maintaining the area for wildlife. Designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1977, the reserve remains privately owned by Arena Racing Company but is leased to the Society. Public entry is limited to Society members and visitors holding a day pass; non-members may purchase a pass on arrival. Dogs are not permitted, there are no public rights of way, and opening times are listed on the Society’s information page. Regular open days and educational activities for schools are organised by the Society.

Milecastle 10 (Walbottle Dene)

Walbottle · 9.3 miles

Roman milecastles marked the intervals along Hadrian’s Wall, and Milecastle 10 (Walbottle Dene) lies close to the modern village of Throckley in Tyne and Wear, with Walbottle identified as the nearest town. The structure occupies a position where the otherwise straight wall makes a 20-degree turn before crossing a valley and heading towards the Great Hill at Heddon-on-the-Wall. Although much of the milecastle is now beneath a road, a fragment of the north wall survives in the front garden of Dene House, where twelve foundation slabs and three stone blocks can be observed; some blocks bear an asterisk, pivot holes for a gate and a lewis-hole. The southern side appears only as a low mound about 0.4 m high in a field, and a short section of the ditch is also visible. The building measured 78 ft 2 in (23.83 m) north-to-south and 67 ft (20 m) east-to-west, with walls roughly 10 ft (3.0 m) wide. It is classified as a long-axis milecastle with Type IV gateways, a form thought to have been erected by the legion XX Valeria Victrix based at Deva Victrix (Chester). Excavations have taken place repeatedly: in 1864 the north and south gateways were uncovered, revealing a centurial stone now held by the Black Gate Museum; later work in 1928, 1966, 1979, 1988, 1999 and 2000 documented the surviving walls, flagstone surfacing and an oven, while noting considerable damage from ploughing. Two associated turrets were linked to the site. Turret 10A, situated 509 yards (465 m) west beneath the B6528 Hexham Road, shows no surface remains but was examined in 1930 and 1980, revealing three-foot-thick walls, a south-wall entrance and artefacts dated to before 140 AD, together with earlier Neolithic or Bronze-Age plough marks. Turret 10B remains unlocated, also presumed to lie under the same road, with only burnt wood fragments suggesting activity during the wall’s construction. No admission fee, opening hours or visitor facilities are recorded for the site.

Milecastle 9

Blucher · 9.9 miles

The remains of a Roman milecastle can be found in West Denton, a short distance west of Newcastle upon Tyne and about 300 yards (270 m) from Chapel House Farm. Known as Milecastle 9 (or Chapel House), the site survives mainly as a low platform; the northern section is now largely hidden beneath the A69/B6528 road network. The structure formed part of Hadrian’s Wall, erected in the early 2nd century AD under Emperor Hadrian to mark the northern frontier of Roman Britain. Built as a long-axis milecastle with a Type IV gateway – a variation of the broad-wall design – it is one of only three milecastles identified with this gateway type, the others being Milecastle 27 and possibly Milecastle 10. Internal dimensions were roughly 14.9 m wide by 18 m long, with gates about 2.7 m wide and side walls 0.8 m thick. Archaeological evidence suggests a small garrison of eight men, later expanded in the third century, and a post-hole hints at an earlier timber phase. Excavations have yielded a range of artefacts, including pottery from each phase of the Wall, coins of Tetricus I and Valentinian I, a gaming board, a sword-scabbard chape and a relief of a female figure. A Roman or post-Roman cist burial was discovered outside the south wall, containing several skeletal remains. The Military Way, a road running east–west, lay about 9.8 m to the south, though later field work found little trace of it. The site lies on cultivated land and shows signs of plough damage; English Heritage has noted that removal from cultivation would be needed to prevent further loss. The nearest settlement is the town of Blucher, and no visitor facilities or admission charges are recorded for the archaeological feature.

Throckley Hall Grounds

Throckley · 9.9 miles

Private grounds of Throckley Hall Manor House.

Jesmond Dene

Jesmond · 11 miles

A narrow, steep-sided valley carved by the Ouseburn river runs through the east end of Newcastle upon Tyne, forming the public park known as Jesmond Dene. The valley’s name, meaning “mouth of the Ouseburn”, reflects its geographical setting. Laid out in the 1860s by Lord Armstrong and his wife, the design intentionally mimics a rural landscape, incorporating woodland, crags, waterfalls and a series of pools. After Armstrong presented the park and his Banqueting Hall to the city in 1883, it opened to the public the following year and remains under the ownership of Newcastle City Council following its return to council control on 1 March 2025. Visitors can wander the wooded paths, view the ruins of St Mary’s Chapel – Newcastle’s oldest religious building – and cross the iron-constructed Armstrong Bridge, now closed to road traffic but used for the Jesmond Food Market on the first and third Saturday of each month. A free-entry petting zoo, Pets’ Corner, has attracted families since the 1960s, while the nearby Jesmond Dene House operates as a luxury hotel. The park benefits from the Friends of Jesmond Dene and Volunteer Rangers, who fund small improvements and maintain paths, shrubbery and litter. Recent developments include a 2011 redevelopment of the field area and Pets’ Corner, adding a new road and bridge over the Ouseburn, and the removal of graffiti from the Old Mill after a 2014 incident. Access is via the suburb of Jesmond, and admission to the park and its petting zoo is free.

Exhibition Park

Haymarket · 11 miles

Connected to the south-eastern corner of the Town Moor in Newcastle upon Tyne, Exhibition Park provides a variety of recreational amenities within a historic environment. The Town Moor Improvement Act of 1870 set aside two 35-acre parcels for public use; one became Leazes Park and the other developed into the present park. Initially designated as Bull Park, the site later hosted the Royal Mining Engineering Jubilee Exhibition of 1887, after which the name Exhibition Park entered common usage. A surviving grade II-listed bandstand dating from 1875 remains from that period. The most visible legacy of the 1929 North East Coast Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art is the Palace of Arts, the sole building left from the event, which subsequently housed a science museum, a military vehicle collection and, since 2016, the Wylam Brewery. Current facilities include two croquet lawns, a pair of tennis courts, a basketball court, a fenced playground with safety surfacing, a lake that has been re-engineered for wildlife, a café, a skatepark at the main entrance and a miniature railway operated by the Tyneside Society of Model and Experimental Engineers. The park is fully step-free, providing wheelchair access throughout. Public transport is served by Haymarket Metro and bus stations, and a taxi rank sits on Park Terrace close to the entrance. Visitors can also attend events such as the annual mela in August and the Northern Pride festival each July.