Newcastle Quayside

About Newcastle Quayside

The Quayside is the strip of the Tyne's north bank directly below the old town, and its promenade is the most rewarding easy walk in Newcastle. For centuries this was the working heart of the port, lined with warehouses, chares and the coal staiths that shipped Tyneside coal round the coast, and the Guildhall and the old merchants' houses still front the water. Since the 1990s the quays have been remade for walking: a flat, well-surfaced and lit path runs from below the Tyne Bridge east past the Law Courts and the converted warehouses, with no traffic to cross and plenty of benches, cafes and bars along the way.

The set-piece is the bridges. Seven crossings span a mile of river here, from the High Level Bridge of 1849 and the Swing Bridge of 1876 to Robert Stephenson's Tyne Bridge of 1928 and, downstream, the tilting Gateshead Millennium Bridge lifted into place in 2000. A natural circuit crosses the Millennium Bridge to the Gateshead side, past the Baltic and the Glasshouse, and returns over the High Level or the Swing Bridge, roughly two miles in all and step-free throughout. Newcastle Castle and the cathedral's lantern tower rise on the bank above, and the path continues east to meet the mouth of the Ouseburn. It is the obvious first walk for any visitor and an easy one with a pram or wheelchair.

Featured in These Guides

Blog posts and guides that feature Newcastle Quayside.

Moving to Newcastle City Centre: A Guide to Living in the City

What it is really like to live in Newcastle city centre and the quarters around it, from Grainger Town and the Quayside to the Ouseburn and Shieldfield. A practical look at transport, housing, amenities and the trade-offs of centre living.

Best Walks in and around Newcastle City Centre

From the Quayside and the Ouseburn to the Town Moor and the medieval walls, the best walks are all within reach of the middle of Newcastle without a car.