King Charles Coast Path - Whitley Bay to Sunderland (★★★★☆)

This writeup is a combination of two walks I did - the first from Whitley Bay to Newcastle, and the second from Newcastle to Sunderland.

On both walks I really enjoyed the coastal sections, but didn't enjoy the inland stretch into Newcastle - but rather than have to constantly explain that whilst those walks were bad, the combination of the two is actually good - I have here recreated the coastal stretch of walk from the two walks.

And so here you have my virtual walk from Whitley Bay to Sunderland - produced from the combination of two separate walks.

Whitley Bay to North Shields

From Whitley Bay, I first head off to get some supplies for the day, and then begin in earnest - following the coast southwards, away from Whitley Sands.

This early section of walking features some of the larger cliffs along the Northumberland Coast (although this is not saying much) - with a mix of beaches, cliffs and an urban environment as we head past Brown's Point, to Cullercoats Bay.

Cullercoats Bay

It is obvious that the good folk of Whitley Bay like to get out and about in the morning - with a morning jog being the most popular activity, but with early morning swims and cycles also being high on their list of 'things to do to start the day'.

This beach at Cullercoats Bay is clearly a popular spot for an early morning swim, but there are more people out on the next beach at Long Sands - with dog walkers also out in force on this beach, and with surfers coming into view at it's furthest end.

Long Sands

This stretch of walking includes a lot of different beaches. We finished on the previous day with a large beach at Whitley Sands - and here we have smaller beaches at Cullercoats Bay and Long Sands - but we are not done, because before we reach Tynemouth, we must first pass Short Sands beach.

At Tynemouth we reach Tynemouth Castle, and continue round to reach Freestone Point.

Tynemouth Castle

It is possible to walk out along the North Pier to Tynemouth Lighthouse - at the entry point to the harbor - and I had planned on doing so today, but the winds are up, and the waves are hitting against the sea wall - which has somewhat dimmed my enthusiasm for this idea.

Instead, I settle down on a bench and see in the Amsterdam ferry, which I will meet up with at its birth in North Shields, later on in the day.

Incoming ferry from Amsterdam

Getting going again, my path now follows behind this ferry - as I start to walk along the banks of the River Tyne, with Newcastle now lying in front of me.

Following the ferry to North Shields

The riverside path is reasonably busy today - with people mostly walking out towards me - and I head along through this busy section to reach the lighthouse in the above picture (on the left beside the river).

As we pass this lighthouse, we also pass the site of Clifford Fort (you can see the east wall of the fort as you walk past), which was a defensive gun battery, placed at the mouth of the Tyne during the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 17th century.

There isn't too much to see here - but our path continues on past a second lighthouse, and then we start following a road along the edge of the Tyne - before reaching the North Shields terminal (for the Shields Ferry).

And from here the ferry heads our at regular intervals over the River Tyne to cross over to South Shields.

South Shields to Sunderland

From the ferry terminal the path heads along the edge of the river and then passes through what looks like a former harbor, below Ballast Hill (now containing metal model boats).

Mini boats at Captains Wharf coming into South Shields

From here the path follows a road near the edge of the river as there is a port of sorts along the river here - but before long the path takes a very brief diversion inland to cut up to Arbeia Roman Fort - where the west gate at the front has been reconstructed, and with this being immediately visible from the roadside.

The reconstructed west gate

As this is not an English Heritage site, you need not bring along your bank manager - and it is free to walk around (although donations are welcomed). What remains is mostly the layout of the site on the ground - as is the reality for almost all of the Roman sites in Britain - but some sections have been rebuilt, which help show exactly where the fort sat in the landscape. 

This is one of the best Roman sites I have stumbled across on my travels, because it is rare to see a section of a site be rebuilt - and this site is probably well worth a visit if you are walking Hadrian's Wall. 

If you want to do that I'd suggest popping on the metro from Segedunum to North Shields (as that section is not particularly fun to walk), then it is a short walk to the ferry - and then less than a mile to Arbeia Roman Fort from the South Shields ferry terminal on the route I have just walked today. This offers a better end to the Hadrian's Wall walk than the slightly disappointing end at Wallsend. 

I personally would love to see all these sites be rebuilt in full - as has been done with this gatehouse - but all the same - this is one of the very best sites to enjoy, and get a real feel for how it used to be. 

A model of the fort

This fort was twinned with Segedunum fort at Wallsend - and both looked out over the sea route into Hadrian's Wall - with the two forts lying within line of sight of each other (albeit with this one being further out towards the coast). With this being a coastal port these forts would provide an easy way to get supplies inland and down to the rest of the wall.

Continuing on, there is not too much further to go before we reach the coastline, and here we find a very busy beach at South Shields (and with this side of the Tyne not having the same length of beaches as the north side, it does get a bit more crowded).

The quieter far end of the beach

But as I start to head away from the River Tyne, the beach quietens down, and from here the path heads up past Trow Point to Frenchman's Lea, which overlooks Frenchman's Bay. 

The name itself is unusual (we are not in France after all), but this bay was once popular with smugglers - and the bay is named after a French ship that ran aground here in the 17th century. Now it is a well maintained National Trust site that makes for a lovely walk.

Coming up to Trow Point (going past Trow Rocks)

Heading past Frenchman's Bay

Continuing along this stretch of coast, it is not long before the path cuts inland to make it's way round Marsden Bay - where a small beach opens out, with access to the beach either via many steps or via a lift for those who are willing to become a customer of the restaurant, down on the beach below.

The beach at Marsden Bay is really a smaller version of the one running from Sunderland down to Seaham to the south. And whilst the area has a history of smuggling, it has a more recent industrial heritage, with the village of Marsden having been built to house workers for the Whitburn Colliery (Whitburn we will reach later on this walk).

But here I stay on the higher ground - not considering the walk down to the beach, and then back up to the top, worth it - and continue on to Lizard Point - which should not be confused with the other Lizard Point in Cornwall.

Here is the home of Souter Lighthouse (named after Souter Point, which is found further down the coast). This was the first lighthouse in the world to use alternating electric current - and it first went into service in 1871, and retired from service in 1988 as newer technology took over from lighthouses. 

Prior to the construction of this lighthouse, this stretch of coastline had seen a peak of twenty wrecks in 1860 - and the lights and sounds of these lighthouses kept ships from getting too close to the coast in difficult conditions.

Souter Lighthouse

Today it is run by National Trust, and you can have a look around - but it isn't super cheap given that it is just a lighthouse, at £7.20 per adult and £3.60 per child - although I believe that National Trust members can visit the lighthouse for free, which seems a bit more reasonable.

The path itself continues on through Whitburn Coastal Park, which offers a lovely landscape to walk through - heading past Souter Point and on past the town of Whitburn (as mentioned before). 

The town of Whitburn itself is set back from the edge of the cliffs, and so although much of the housing is fairly modern, it is pleasant to walk past. 

Having passed by Whitburn, the beach opens up at South Bents - and here I head down to join up with the beach.

South Bents beach

This turns into Seaburn Beach as we head past Whitburn Bay - and then at Parson's Rocks, I head back up off the beach, to pass the less impressive looking Meik's Lighthouse.

Although not as pretty as Souter Lighthouse, this one is special in that it is a cast iron lighthouse and it is an older lighthouse, having been built in 1856. These days the lighthouse sits on Parson's Rocks, but it once sat at the end of the Old South Pier (now replaced by the New South Pier). 

Once that pier started to fall into the sea, the lighthouse was moved, and re-sited in this location - and remains one of the few cast iron lighthouses surviving in Britain.

Having passed over Parson's Rocks, we can once again resume our walk along the beach, now at the busy beach in Roker - and then along the full extent of the coast to turn inland, close to North Pier. 

This section offers views of the harbor at Sunderland - but it is slightly ruined a bit by the slightly excessive security fencing. From here the path heads round the Marina, which is well finished, and then the path heads inland along the edge of the River Wear - heading past the University.

The bridges of Sunderland

From here there is a bit of a climb to complete in order to get up level with Wearmouth Bridge - and then it is across and over to meet up with the train station, and begin the journey home.

Total Distance: 15.5 miles

Total Ascent: 847 feet

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

The onward route of the coast path passes over the same bridge, and then round past Sunderland docks - and on towards Seaham. The link goes through to a writeup for this walk from Sunderland to Hartlepool.

A writeup of a further onward walk can be found at the end of the following link for a walk from Sunderland to Durham along the Weardale Way.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 88 OS Landranger map (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.