- Play Hard
- 24th Jul 2026
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Here’s where Geordies really spend their summer, all under an hour away
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Looking for things to do in Newcastle this summer that don’t mean sitting in traffic to get there? Every spot on this list sits within an hour’s drive of Newcastle city centre, and each one comes with somewhere to eat or drink built into the route.
This is where us Geordies are actually spending our summer weekends – whisky tasting at Ad Gefrin, a beach walk in Warkworth, padel at Vallum, an afternoon chilling with flamingos, a wander through a castle deer park, even a waterfall swim followed by a wood-fired sauna in the forest.
Newcastle is the perfect base to explore the best of what the north east has to offer – here’s the ultimate summer inspo…
SÆLA SAUNA IN OUSEBURN PAIRS PERFECTLY WITH DOUGHNUTS AT DEEP NORTH
Location: Ouseburn, Newcastle
Drive time: 10 minutes from Newcastle city centre
Good for: sauna and cold plunge, plus doughnuts and coffee
Sæla Sauna sits in Cobalt Studios’ Backyard, a handcrafted Danish wood-fired sauna seating ten, with cold plunge baths right alongside for the full hot-and-cold reset. Afterwards, Deep North is a couple of minutes away in the same Ouseburn stretch, serving up artisan doughnuts and speciality coffee made from scratch daily – the brown butter and smoked sea salt is worth the walk alone.
WALK THE CHEVIOT FOOTHILLS, THEN WARM UP WITH A DRAM AT AD GEFRIN & FURROW
Location: Wooler, Northumberland
Drive time: 1 hour 5 minutes from Newcastle
Good for: whisky tasting, walking and a bistro lunch
Ad Gefrin sits at the foot of the Cheviots, and the walk up onto the surrounding hills before you head back down for a tasting is what makes the trip worth it. As Northumberland’s first whisky distillery, it runs a Twilight Tour, Dinner and Tasting Experience, with a new whisky series launching soon too. The on-site bistro plates up Northumbrian ingredients – think smoked trout and Redesdale lamb – with a terrace looking straight out at the hills you’ve just walked. If you’re driving, keep the tastings light – nobody wants a drink-drive risk on the way home.
WARKWORTH’S BEACH WALK COMES WITH A FOOD VAN STOP AT RIGG & FURROW
Location: Warkworth, Northumberland
Drive time: 47 minutes from Newcastle
Good for: coastal walking, farm shop and a food van pit stop
The stretch between Warkworth Castle and the beach is one of the easiest coastal walks going – flat enough for kids and dogs, with Coquet Island sat out in the water the whole way. Rigg & Furrow’s farm shop is right on the route in or out, and when their food van’s parked up, it’s worth timing the walk around it: wood-fired pizza and proper coffee, eaten at a picnic table looking out over the fields.
BOOK A PADEL COURT AT VALLUM, ICED COFFEES SORTED RIGHT AFTER
Location: Hadrian’s Wall, near Hexham
Drive time: 45 minutes from Newcastle
Good for: padel and a coffee stop
Vallum Padel sits right in Hadrian’s Wall country, and an hour on court here beats a gym session any day of the week. Once you’re done, Northumberland CoffeeHouse is close enough to make it part of the same trip – flat whites, iced coffees and a spot to sit outside in the sun, which is exactly what you need after a match.
WASHINGTON WETLAND CENTRE’S A PROPER FAMILY DAY OUT, WITH A FARM SHOP STOP ON THE WAY
Location: Washington, Tyne and Wear
Drive time: 23 minutes from Newcastle
Good for: wildlife walks, family days out and a farm shop stop
Washington Wetland Centre’s otters and flamingos have been pulling families out this way for years, and the walking trails around the reserve make for an easy few hours outdoors. Penshaw Farm Shop is right on the way there or back, so it’s worth loading up on local cheese, bread and something sweet for the car before or after.
SUNDERLAND’S MACKIE’S CORNER IS WORTH A BROWSE, THEN IT’S DRINKS AT SHEEPFOLDS STABLES AND PIZZA AT WILD FIRE CITY
Location: Sunderland city centre
Drive time: around 35 minutes from Newcastle
Good for: shopping, drinks and pizza
Mackie’s Corner has become one of Sunderland’s go-to shopping stops, with independent units tucked into a stretch that’s had a proper glow-up. Sheepfolds Stables is a short walk from there and the obvious spot for a first drink in the sunshine, before pizza at Wild Fire City rounds the day off – a wood-fired base with toppings to die for.
RABY CASTLE’S DEER PARK PAIRS WELL WITH ROWING BOATS ON THE WEAR IN DURHAM
Location: Staindrop, County Durham and Durham city centre
Drive time: 55 minutes to Raby Castle and 33 minutes to Durham, from Newcastle
Good for: deer spotting, rowing and alfresco dining
Raby Castle’s Deer Park is home to one of the oldest herds in the country, and a walk through it before or after the castle itself is worth building the whole day around. If you’re staying closer to home, Durham’s rowing boats on the Wear are an easier way to spend an hour, gliding past the cathedral with the city looking better from the water than it does from the bank. Whitechurch, with its outdoor terrace, is worth a pit stop before heading back to Newcastle.
WATERFALL SWIM AND FOREST SAUNA, FINISHED WITH A COUNTRY PUB LUNCH
Location: Hamsterley Forest, County Durham
Drive time: 1 hour 26 minutes from Newcastle – just over the hour, but worth the extra few minutes
Good for: wood-fired sauna, wild swimming and a country pub lunch
The Conscious Self runs wood-fired sauna sessions deep in Hamsterley Forest, with small groups moving between the sauna’s heat and the cool of the surrounding woodland air. Sessions run on Saturdays and selected Sundays, and the waterfall close by makes for the perfect cold-water finish once you’ve worked up the heat. Afterwards, head to The Cross Keys down the road for lunch.
KIP & NOOK’S KIRAMI WELLNESS EXPERIENCE LEADS NICELY INTO PASTA AT ALBERTO’S
Location: Darlington, County Durham
Drive time: 54 minutes from Newcastle
Good for: wellness and Italian dining
Kip & Nook’s Kirami wellness set-up – hot tub and sauna combined – makes for a proper reset before you’ve even thought about food. Alberto’s, the new Italian spot nearby, is the right way to finish it off, with pasta made properly and a room that doesn’t try too hard to impress.
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Rachael Ellis
Head of Content
After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers. She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…
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