Watergate Park Gateshead

The walk will start at 10:30am  

Start and Finish point:  

• Watergate Forest Park car park  
• The car park is FREE all day  
• There are no toilets at the very beginning of the walk but there is a small café with toilets not far from the start.  

   How to get there:   

• The car park is situated on the B6317 (Whickham Highway) road, about one mile from the A1 roundabout. From the roundabout take the turning for Whickham and Consett. After climbing Lobley Hill Road, turn right at the traffic lights at the top of the hill. The car park is on the left and is sign posted.  
• Sat Nav: NE11 9RQ  
• what3words location code is:  boots.beard.bricks  
• Public transport: Number 1 bus (to Metrocentre) from Market Street, Newcastle via Gateshead town centre interchange. X71 bus (To Consett) from Eldon Square.  

The walk is an easy one with only two well maintained stiles to cross and a gentle gradient. The walk takes us through Watergate Forest Park and Buck Hill to reach Whickham where we walk along Broom Lane to the first stile. This leads us into another wooded area called ‘Lotties Wood’ which is named by locals after former dairymaid Lottie Brabban and forms part of the Great North Forest. This site which is maintained by the Woodland Trust, also boasts glades, pastureland and a hay meadow. We will have our packed lunches here. We will then walk to the main A692 road at Sunniside, where care must be taken when crossing the road. We then join part of the route of The Tanfield Railway. After crossing the road again, at a light controlled crossing, we re-enter Washingwell Woods and return through Watergate Forest Park. Watergate Forest Park is located on the site of the former Watergate Colliery which closed in 1964. Following reclamation work in the 1990's, the site has been transformed and now provides a haven for wildlife and a great recreational site for visitors. The site opened in 2000 and is managed by Gateshead Council with much volunteer help. With its wetlands, woodlands, wildflower meadows and recreational routes, including those for people with disabilities, this is one of Gateshead's premier nature sites.  

There is a café near the end of the walk or alternatively there is a pub called ‘The Highwayman’, a short distance from the car park.

The walk is mainly on well maintained tracks but parts of the wooded area could well be muddy. Sticks are recommended.