the lower ouseburn valley - walk4life · key to map main route alternative route (welly walk)...

Exploring Hadrian’s Way

The Lower OuseburnValley & Jesmond ValeUp to 41/2 miles / 7km

Newcastle’s Historic Valley

In terms of its history, theOuseburn Valley is one of thegems of northern England.

Along the steep valley sides youwill find evidence of theindustries for which Newcastlewas famous even before thedays of railways andshipbuilding. Lead products,ironware, glass, pottery, lime andsoaps were all manufacturedalong the Ouseburn.

The Lower Ouseburn is tidal upto Crawford’s Bridge, and sosmall boats could transfer theircargoes directly to and from thewarehouses which lined theriver. Most of these industriesused the river as a drain to carryaway their waste products.Because of this pollution, 200years ago the Lower OuseburnValley would not have been ahealthy place to live and work.

However, many people did live inthe Lower Ouseburn. In the 19thcentury terraced streets clung tothe valley sides and housesclustered along the river itself.Many of these survived until the1960s when much of the areawas cleared for redevelopment.

Bridges over Bridges

The River Tyne is renowned forits bridges, but the OuseburnValley has some magnificentexamples of its own. The LowerValley is dominated by threehuge structures.

The Ouseburn Viaduct carriesthe railway and was originallybuilt partly of timber. It was laterwidened and rebuilt in cast-iron.

The Byker Road Bridge issupported on impressive brick-arched piers. It was originallyused to carry the tram-lines fromthe city out to Byker and beyondand now carries cars.

The Metro Bridge, 4 opened 20years ago, has a box concreteconstruction which is immenselystrong but relatively light.

Crawford’s Bridge 4 sitsbeneath these huge structures.It was built in the18th centuryand is now one of the oldestbridges in Newcastle.

At the mouth of the Ouseburn isGlasshouse Bridge. An earlierpackhouse bridge wasdemolished when the QuaysideRailway was extended in 1908.

Victoria Tunnel

In 1839 work started on a tunnelthat would carry coal from theSpital Tongues colliery in theNorth West of Newcastle, downto the river Tyne. The tunnel wasbuilt to avoid coal beingtransported through the busycity streets.

Victoria Tunnel was opened in1842. It was 2 miles long and thetotal descent of the tunnel fromthe colliery to the Tyne was68m/222ft.

The tunnel was an efficient wayof transporting coal. Wagonstravelled down to the Tyne underthe force of gravity and a steamengine at the colliery pulled theempty trucks back up to SpitalTongues.

The tunnel was closed in 1860.

During the Second World Warthe tunnel was reopened as anair-raid shelter.

A Lost Village

The old village of Jesmond Valeused to sit amongst fields in thebottom of the Ouseburn Valley, atranquil haven away from thebustle of the city.

The village had three pubs, afarm and a mill beside the river.The remains of the mill 5 canstill be seen, and the leat whichfed it can be traced back to themill dam at Greenwater Pool 6 .

Originally a corn mill, it was lateradapted to grind flint for use asglaze in the pottery industry. Flintwas brought into the Tyne asballast on cargo ships and wasthen carted up to the mills on theOuseburn, hence Ballast Hills 7 .

The bulk of the old village wasdemolished in the 1960’s whenthe Vale was earmarked forredevelopment. Of the threepubs only the Bluebell Innsurvived.

Designed by Ad Infinitum, Rothbury. Published by Newcastle City Council © 2002Front cover: Lower Ouseburn – Ad Infinitum

Discover one of Newcastle’slesser known corners on thisvaried and fascinating 41/2 mile /7 km walk in the LowerOuseburn Valley. From thecolourful boats at the mouth ofthe Ouseburn to the quiettranquillity of Jesmond Vale, thisis a walk with something foreveryone.

The route can be joined at anypoint and can be followed ineither direction.

Frequent bus services run toByker Bridge and Benton Bank,and the walk can also bereached from the Metro stationsat Manors and Byker.

Designated parking areas areindicated on the map.

Contact details:

TravelineTel: 0870 608 2608www.traveline.org.uk

Hadrian's Wall Information LineTel: 01434 322002www.hadrians-wall.org

Newcastle TouristInformation CentreTel: 0191 2778000

To give feedback on these &other strategic routes in andaround Newcastle,please contact:

John Robertson,Newcastle City CouncilPlanning & TransportationTel: 0191 232 8520

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Key to map

Main routeAlternative route(welly walk)Alternative routeHadrian’s WaySlopeStepsParkingInformation BoardPublic Art

The Lower Ouseburn Valley & Jesmond Vale 41/2 miles / 7km Suggested starting point: Quayside/Glasshouse Bridge or Cradlewell

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This leaflet can be used inconjunction with OrdnanceSurvey Explorer Map 316Newcastle Upon Tyne

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GradientsGlasshouse

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This walk can be linked with theJesmond Dene route LordArmstrong’s Back Garden to makea circular walk of 61/2 miles / 11km.

The Sailor’s Bethel was a DanishSeaman’s Church & was renovatedin 1992 to be used as offices.

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Close to the east entrance ofHeaton Park, once part of the Ridleyfamily’s Heaton Estate, a templelike building was constructed andpresented to Sir Matthew WhiteRidley by his tenants & admirers.

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Ballast from sailing ships wasdumped here at Ballast Hills. Thearea later became a non-conformistburial ground, and many of thegravestones have been used to flagthe paths.

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Former site of mill dam at Greenwater Pool6

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The remains of the Jesmond Vale flintmill can be seen here. Flint was broughtinto the Tyne as ballast on ships, andwas ground in the mill for use as glazein the pottery industry.

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200 years of bridgingthe Ouseburn – BykerMetro Bridge towersover the 18th centuryCrawford’s Bridge.

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