20 Attractions to Explore Near Thornley Woodlands Centre

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.

Tanfield Railway is the world’s oldest existing railway and runs from Sunniside to East Tanfield. The 6-mile return trip takes an hour and steam trains run on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays. The railway is run by three bodies: "Friends of Tanfield Railway", "Tanfield Railway Trust" which owns the railway, the locomotives and rolling stock and "The Tanfield Railway Company" which operates the railway.

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.

Causey Arch bridge over the River Team near Tanfield was built by the Grand Allies in 1726. It is renowned to be the world's oldest surviving single-arch railway bridge. Horse-drawn wagons crossed the arch on Tanfield Railway to transport coal from local mines to the River Tyne. The Arch has been Grade I listed since 1950. It was restored and reinforced in the 1980s. There are a series of scenic public paths around the area and the Causey Burn which runs underneath it.

Hedley Hall Woods is located in Newcastle upon Tyne. It was a mix of ancient woodland which cloaks the long, narrow valley of Ridley Gill, and established, new native woodland planted in 1992, where medieval farmsteads once stood. One of the iconic attraction for a long walk and also it gives some way for adventure too.

Tyne Riverside Country Park is a popular country park for outdoor recreation and sports – great for walking , cycling and horse riding with a large network for footpaths and public rights of way including Hadrian's Way, which links up with Hadrian's Wall National Trail and the Wylam Waggonway. The park has a wide range of wildlife habitats and is an ideal place to watch birds and butterflies.

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.

Derwentcote is the earliest and most complete steel-making furnace in Britain which was built in the 1720s. It is part of the Land of Oak and Iron project, aiming to improve information and access to local heritage in the Derwent Valley. It is a low rectangular stone building with a large conical chimney near one end. The structure provided storage areas for raw materials, for the finished steel output, and space for the actual furnace within the chimney.

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.

Boasting a spectacular countryside setting, this charming farmhouse provides a peaceful rural retreat. There is good access to Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland and Durham. The surroundings are ideal for relaxing strolls, with plenty of wildlife, including Canadian geese, blackbirds and cattle. It offers an excellent farmhouse cooked breakfast and a range of other breakfast options.

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.

Experience a real sense of your past at Beamish, a living, working museum, set in 300 acres of beautiful Durham countryside. This huge open-air museum provides a glimpse of life in England from the early 1800s until the mid-20th-century. Volunteers throughout the museum dress in period clothing and are more than willing to chat about life in the past.

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.

It was one of the Britain's finest examples of a Victorian park and a perfect place for the whole family to enjoy. It encompasses 55 acres of landscapes, woodland and ornamental gardens as well as public sports facilities, a refreshment house, a lake, play areas, bowling greens, Saltwell Towers, the animal house, an education centre and a maze.

The Shipley Art Gallery is home to a collection of over 700 breathtaking pieces by the country's leading craft makers. A dazzling selection of this collection is on permanent show and includes studio ceramics, glass, metalwork, jewellery, textiles and furniture. It has a Designated Collection of national importance.

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.

A majestic medieval fortification in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, built on the site of the fortress that gave the City of Newcastle its name. The most prominent remaining structures on the site are the Castle Keep , the castle's main fortified stone tower, and the Black Gate, its fortified gatehouse. It sits upon ground previously occupied by the Roman fort Pons Aelius, an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and a Norman motte and bailey castle from which the City takes its name. The Castle Keep also boasts a

The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas is a Church of England cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Newcastle and is the mother church of the Diocese of Newcastle. It is the most northerly cathedral in England. The church as originally founded in 1091 but was destroyed by fire in 1216. The current building was completed in 1350, and underwent a major restoration in 1777.

The Swing Bridge is a swing bridge over the River Tyne, England, connecting Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, and lying between the Tyne Bridge and the High Level Bridge. It is a Grade II* listed structure. It stands on the site of the Old Tyne Bridges of 1270 and 1781, and probably of the Roman Pons Aelius. It was first used for road traffic on 15 June 1876 and opened for river traffic on 17 July 1876. At the time of construction it was the largest swing bridge ever built. The construction co