Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear

Tyne and Wear is one of six metropolitan counties in England, comprising the estuary areas of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It is divided into the following council areas: South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and Sunderland. In 1986 the council was abolished, and its powers devolved to the metropolitan districts, but the county still exists as a legal entity. The area is also a ceremonial county.

It borders on the administrative counties of Durham and Northumberland, from which it was created in 1974. It is in the North East region.

The area is served by a light railway system called the Tyne and Wear Metro.

Many organisations do not accept Tyne and Wear as an entity, instead retaining the traditional boundary between Northumberland and County Durham along the River Tyne. This includes particularly wildlife and biological recording groups, for whom the stability of recording boundaries is important for the maintenance of long-term records (though of course the Watsonian vice-counties of Durham and Northumberland are usually used for such recording, and do not change), and many sporting organisations - the Northumberland County Cricket Club and the Northumberland Football Association are for example both based in Newcastle upon Tyne. For these purposes, Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside are included in Northumberland, and Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland are included in County Durham.

A wider, overall legal return to the pre-1974 boundary is wanted by some inhabitants. Such people prefer to use the Traditional counties when refering to places that also lie within Tyne and Wear.

Towns and villages

Newcastle
Byker
Dudley
Gosforth
Newcastle upon Tyne
Walker
North Tyneside
- Backworth
- Cullercoats
- Dinnington
- Earsdon
- Kenton
- Killingworth
- Longbenton
- Monkseaton
- North Shields
- North Tyneside
- Shiremoor
- Throckley
- Tynemouth
- Wallsend
- Whitley Bay
Gateshead
- Blaydon
- Gateshead
- Rowlands Gill
- Ryton
- Whickham
South Tyneside
- Boldon
- Cleadon
- Hebburn
- Jarrow
- Marsden, Tyne and Wear
- South Shields
- South Tyneside
- Whitburn
- Whitburn Colliery
Sunderland
- Castletown
- Ryhope
- Sunderland
- Washington

Places of interest

Arbeia Roman Fort & Museum, South Shields

Baltic Art Gallery, Gateshead

Discovery Museum (previously Museum of Science & Technology)

Gibside

Hadrian's Wall
Hancock Museum
Marsden Rocks bird reserve
Jesmond Dene public park
St James' Park
St Mary's Island bird reserve
Sea to Sea Cycle Route
Segedunum Roman Fort & Museum, Wallsend
Souter Point Lighthouse
Stadium of Light
Tynemouth Castle
WWT Washington, a wildfowl and wetland reserve of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

United Kingdom | England | Ceremonial counties of England