20 Attractions to Explore Near Tyne Riverside Country Park

Thornley Woodlands Centre is within the ancient woodlands of the Derwent Valley that are home to many birds including green and great spotted woodpecker, nuthatch, and sparrow hawks. An observation hide is located within the woods with keys available for purchase from the centre. Walking routes from the centre are clearly marked including a circular route that takes in a number of sculptures carved from trees stumps including an otter and a red kite.

Prudhoe Castle is a Norman castle, which was for a long time involved in the border wars between England and Scotland. It was built by the de Umfraville family: the Norman Sir Robert de Umfraville was granted the freedom of Redesdale by William the Conqueror. For much of its history the castle was owned by the Percy family. It is now run by English Heritage. The castle is unique in being the only medieval defensive fortification in the whole of Northumbria to avoid capture by the Scots.

Gibside Estate is situated on the steep, southern slopes of the Derwent Valley. It is now a National Trust property. Gibside Hall, the main house on the estate, is now a shell, although the property is most famous for its chapel. The stables, walled garden, Column to Liberty and Banqueting House are also intact.

Dunston Staiths on the River Tyne is believed to be the largest timber structure in Europe, at its height, 5.5m tonnes of coal a year was taken by rail from the Durham coalfields and loaded from the staiths onto ships waiting on the river, which transported coal around the British Isles and Internationally. Today, this magnificent feat of architecture stands as a tribute to the ambition of British engineers during the Victorian period.

The Town Moor is an area of common land in Newcastle upon Tyne. It covers an area of around 1000 acres or 400ha, making it larger than Hyde Park combined with Hampstead Heath combined, and also larger than New York City's Central Park. The Town Moor reaches Spital Tongues and the city centre to the south, Gosforth to the north and Jesmond to the east.

Watergate Forest Park is located on the site of the former Watergate colliery. 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. A series of trails and paths take you through woodland, around the lake and through wildflower meadows. The site opened in 2000.

The Discovery Museum is a science museum and local history museum situated in Blandford Square in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It displays many exhibits of local history, including the ship, Turbinia. It is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums. The collections were housed in a temporary pavilion built for the 1929 North East Coast Exhibition in Exhibition Park, Newcastle.

Cherryburn is a cottage in Mickley, Northumberland, England, which was the birthplace of Thomas Bewick, an English wood engraver and ornithologist. The cottage, its adjacent farmhouse and large grounds, have been managed by the National Trust since 1991 when they took over responsibility for the site from the Bewick Birthplace Trust.Cherryburn is now open to the public 7 days a week between February and November.

The Centre for Life is an award-winning science centre where imaginative exhibitions, interactive displays and special events promote greater understanding of science and provoke curiosity in the world around us. All exhibitions and activities are included in the price of admission. Each year a new temporary exhibition is hosted or launched in May, often a major touring exhibition such as Body Worlds Vital in 2014. In the winter months, Times Square is host to an open-air ice rink.

The Cathedral Church of St Mary is a Catholic cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the mother church of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and seat of the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. The Cathedral, situated on Clayton Street, was designed by Augustus Welby Pugin and built between 1842 and 1844. The cathedral is a grade I listed building and a fine example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture championed by Pugin.

Newcastle Arts Centre Limited was founded as an Arts Development company in 1981. Since then it has brought back to use a group of 9 abandoned buildings in the City Centre, providing a home for dozens of arts related companies. The Centre now has 82,000 visitors a year and 77,000 sales, making it one of the most active independent art centres in England.

Exhibition Park is a beautiful park close to Newcastle City Centre complete with Victorian bandstand and small, boating lake home to swans and ducks. The park is home to numerous facilities including sports areas, a boating lake, playgrounds and a skatepark.

The Hatton Gallery was founded in 1925, by the King Edward VII School of Art, Armstrong College, Durham University, in honour of Richard George Hatton, a professor at the School of Art. It dedicated to enhancing the cultural and intellectual life of the Department of Art, the Colorado State University campus, and the vibrant communities of greater northern Colorado.

Grainger Market is a busy, vibrant market which still plays a role in Newcastle's bustling shopping and dining culture, nearly 200 years after it first opened. The covered market is situated in the centre of Newcastle, a stone's throw away from Grey Street and the city's iconic Grey's Monument.

The Great North Museum incorporates collections from the Hancock Museum and Newcastle University’s Museum of Antiquities, the Shefton Museum and the Hatton Gallery. it is a museum of natural history and ancient civilisations and most of its collections are owned by the Natural History Society of Northumbria, and it is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums on behalf of Newcastle University.

Northumberland Street is a bustling high street running through the heart of Newcastle city centre. Shoppers can enjoy browsing major high street shops along the length of Northumberland Street, including shopping favourites H&M, Marks and Spencers, TK Maxx and Primark. It is home to a wide range of different retailers, banks and cafes, and in terms of rental per square foot, Northumberland Street is the most expensive location in the UK outside London to own a shop.

Grey's Monument is a prominent landmark in the centre of Newcastle. It was built in 1838 to commemorate Charles Earl Grey and the reforms he achieved. The statue of Grey stands on a 134 ft. stone column. The monument has a viewing balcony accessed via a spiral staircase with 164 steps inside the column.

The Civic Centre is a central landmark in the heart of the regional capital, Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the main administrative and ceremonial centre for Newcastle City Council. Designed by the city architect, George Kenyon, the building was completed in 1967 and was formally opened by King Olav V of Norway on 14 November 1968. It is a Grade II* listed building.

The Ouseburn is a small river in Tyne and Wear, England that flows through the city of Newcastle upon Tyne into the River Tyne. It gives its name to the Ouseburn electoral ward. The Ouseburn has its source at Callerton in the north of the city near Newcastle Airport. It then flows through the Kingston Park area of the city, Newcastle Great Park, Gosforth Park and Whitebridge Park.

The Tyneside Cinema is an independent cinema in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the city's only full-time independent cultural cinema, specialising in the screening of independent and world cinema from across the globe. The last remaining Newsreel theatre to be in full-time operation in the UK, it is a Grade II-listed building. The Tyneside's patrons are filmmakers Mike Figgis and Mike Hodges, and musicians Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys and Paul Smith of Maxïmo Park.