Getting Around Tynemouth Without a Car

Few places in the North East make life without a car as easy as Tynemouth does. The village is compact enough to cross on foot in ten minutes, the Metro runs straight into Newcastle and up and down the coast, and the seafront is one long, gentle promenade you can walk or cycle. Whether you have given up the car for good, are saving one for weekends, or simply want to leave it at home on a busy summer Saturday when parking is a nightmare, here is how to get around.

Metro

The Tyne and Wear Metro is the backbone of car-free travel here. Tynemouth station is a grand Grade II listed Victorian station on the Yellow line, which loops around North Tyneside through North Shields, Whitley Bay and the coast before heading into Newcastle and on to Gateshead, Jarrow and South Shields. From the platform it is a short walk down Front Street to the Priory, the beaches and the village.

Trains run roughly every 12 minutes through the day from Monday to Saturday, with a slightly reduced Sunday and evening service, from around 5.30am until after midnight. The ride into the centre of Newcastle, to Monument or Haymarket, takes about half an hour, and it is only a few minutes up the line to Whitley Bay or down to North Shields. Because timetables change, always check live times with Nexus or the Pop app rather than relying on a fixed schedule.

For fares, the cheapest way to travel is a Pop card, which you top up and tap on the platform validators, or a Metro Day Ticket if you are making several trips in a day. Day tickets also cover the Shields Ferry and local rail, which makes a day out around the mouth of the Tyne good value. Every Metro station has lifts as well as stairs, so the network is step-free for wheelchairs, buggies and bikes, and folding and full-size cycles are carried outside peak times.

Best for: Best for: commuting into Newcastle, quick hops along the coast, and days out without the parking hassle.

Bus

Local buses fill in the gaps the Metro does not reach and are handy for journeys across North Tyneside rather than into the city. Services run along the coast road and through the residential streets between Tynemouth, North Shields, Whitley Bay and the wider borough, linking to shops, health centres and schools that sit away from a Metro station.

Buses in the area are mainly run by Go North East and Arriva, and you can pay by contactless, with an operator app, or with a Pop pay-as-you-go card on most services. If you mix bus and Metro in the same day, a combined ticket usually works out cheaper than paying separately, so it is worth checking the Nexus website before you set off.

Ferry

The Shields Ferry is one of the region's small pleasures and a genuine part of the transport network, not just a tourist trip. It sails from North Shields, a short Metro ride or bus hop from Tynemouth, across the Tyne to South Shields in about seven minutes, running every 30 minutes from each side, seven days a week.

Ticketing is integrated with the Metro, so a Metro Day Ticket covers the crossing, and the ferry has been joining the Pop smart-travel system. It is the quickest way to reach South Shields and its beaches without a long road trip round the river, and the views of the piers and the harbour mouth on the way over are worth the fare on their own.

Walking

Tynemouth is made for walking. The village core around Front Street packs the shops, cafés, pubs and the Priory into a few hundred metres, and almost everything a resident needs day to day is within a flat, easy stroll. From the station you can be on Longsands or at King Edward's Bay in minutes.

Beyond the village, the coastal path gives you miles of level, well-surfaced walking. Head north along the front towards Cullercoats and Whitley Bay, or drop down to the Fish Quay at North Shields. It is the sort of place where the walk is often the nicest part of the errand.

Best for: Best for: everyday village life, the school run, and reaching the beaches and the Priory on foot.

Cycling

The coast is a cyclist's asset. A largely traffic-free route runs along the seafront on National Cycle Route 1, north from the North Shields Fish Quay past Tynemouth towards Cullercoats, Whitley Bay and on into Northumberland. Heading the other way, a shared path along the A1058 Coast Road links the coast directly to Newcastle, so you can ride into the city mostly off-road.

Inland, the old waggonways offer quiet, green cycling away from traffic, heading north and west towards Killingworth. For shorter trips, the compact village and flat seafront make cycling for the shops perfectly practical, and the Metro carries bikes outside peak hours if you want to ride one way and roll home.

Taxis

For late nights, heavy shopping or journeys the Metro and buses do not cover, a taxi fills the gap. North Shields and the wider North Tyneside area have several established private-hire and hackney firms, and ranks operate at busier spots near the coast. Book ahead on summer weekends and event nights, and confirm the fare or that the meter is running before you set off.

Know a service we have missed, or spotted a detail that has changed? Timetables and operators do move on, so if something here is out of date please let us know via our contact page and we will put it right.