- Play Hard
- 9th Sep 2026
- 0
- 0 minute
Your ultimate student guide to the North East – free days out, travel for £1 and student discounts
- Advertisement Feature
Term’s back and Freshers Week is on its way, and this student guide to the North East is built to get you settled without the stress or the big-brand price tag.
Buses go pretty much everywhere in this guide, covered under the Mayor’s Fares scheme alongside the Metro and the Shields Ferry, so getting to campus, into town for brunch or over to Gateshead for a free afternoon at BALTIC never needs to cost more than a couple of pounds.
Rather than send you to the same chains every other guide reaches for, we’ve mapped out the independent, affordable and sustainable spots we keep coming back to, with the exact bus route folded into every single stop.
GETTING AROUND FOR A POUND A JOURNEY
Every stop in this guide sits on the same network, so it’s worth getting your head round the fares before you get your head round your timetable. Those aged 21 and under pay £1 for a single journey or £3 for an all-day ticket across bus, Metro and the Shields Ferry, while adults pay £2.50 single or £7.50 all day, and both are frozen until March 2027.
Plan every trip through Travel North East, the region’s journey planner covering bus, Metro, ferry and local rail in one place.
We covered the Metro side of the Mayor’s Fares cap in detail back in April, including how the Pop Pay As You Go card works, if you want the full breakdown before term starts.
Read more: £2.50 capped Metro fares arrive in the North East
BRUNCH SPOTS WORTH THE BUS FARE
Olive & Bean, city centre, Newcastle
Getting there: Any bus into Haymarket or Eldon Square bus station, then a five-minute walk.
Mismatched furniture, a friendly, unhurried pace and an independent breakfast and brunch menu that doesn’t try too hard. It’s the kind of place you end up going back to every week once you’ve found it.
Smoke & Sear Kitchen, Heaton
Getting there: 1, 32 or 32A from the city centre to Heaton Road, a couple of minutes’ walk from the door.
A local favourite that started life as a street food van before settling into a full-time kitchen on Heaton Road. Our go-to orders are steak and eggs, dippy eggs and chicken and waffles. Expect fire-grilled brunch plates, Block & Bottle bacon and sausages smoked in-house, and Pink Lane Bakery sourdough, all in a small, bright, always-busy room.
Grainger Market, Newcastle
Getting there: Any bus into Eldon Square or Haymarket bus station, both a two-minute walk from the market entrance.
Skip the chains and grab lunch from one of the independent stalls inside instead. Slice does enormous, cheap pizza by the slice that easily covers lunch, Redhead’s Mac ‘N’ Cheese is the one to know for proper loaded macaroni cheese, and Acropolis does a solid Greek plate if you fancy something different.
Pablo’s Eggs-Go-Bao, Mackies Corner, Sunderland
Getting there: Any bus into Sunderland Interchange, then a five-minute walk.
An independent breakfast bao and hash box specialist that’s landed in the Mackies Corner courtyard, run locally and built entirely around one very good idea done properly.
Sonny’s at Pop Recs, Sunniside, Sunderland
Getting there: Sunderland Interchange, then a ten-minute walk through Sunniside.
Part independent record shop, part art space, part café, Pop Recs is a community interest company run for the people of Sunderland, not a shareholder. Sonny’s serves a vegetarian menu inside it, and there’s usually something on, from live music to a Stitch n Bitch evening.
GYMS AND STUDIOS RUN BY LOCAL COACHES
ClimbAhub, Jesmond
Getting there: Q3 or 309 from Haymarket Bus Station to Osborne Road-Jesmond Road, right by the door.
A family-run studio built around a single VersaClimber machine, with pay-as-you-go sessions and no membership tie-in, so there’s nothing to cancel if term gets busy.
David Fairlamb Fitness, North Shields
Getting there: 306 or 308 from Haymarket Bus Station to Silverlink and walk to Saturn Court, or 19 from North Shields Transport Hub.
Independent personal training studios plus beach bootcamps down on Tynemouth sands from £5 a session, no big glass gym floor required. It’s a genuinely local outfit with more than 20 years behind it.
KITTING OUT YOUR ROOM THE SUSTAINABLE WAY
Flea Circus, Heaton
Getting there: 1, 32 or 32A from the city centre to Warwick Street-Stratford Road, right outside.
Newcastle’s original independent department store, home to more than 40 local sellers under one roof. It’s the first stop for vintage and second-hand furniture in the city, from mid-century sideboards to lamps, rugs and the odd retro games console, right next door to Star and Shadow Cinema.
Read more: Inside Flea Circus, a treasure trove of unique vintage finds
Byker Furniture & Electrical Store, Newcastle
Getting there: 12, 22, 40 or 63 from the city centre into Byker.
Run by the British Heart Foundation, this store sells pre-loved sofas, wardrobes, beds and PAT-tested electricals, with every sale funding cardiac research rather than a shareholder dividend.
Sunderland Furniture & Electrical Store, Fawcett Street, Sunderland
Getting there: Any bus into Sunderland Interchange, then a short walk onto Fawcett Street.
The same British Heart Foundation model on the Sunderland side, stocking pre-loved furniture, beds and appliances at a fraction of the new price, all in aid of the same cause.
Boutique by St Oswald’s Hospice, Jesmond
Getting there: Q3 or 309 from Haymarket Bus Station to Osborne Road, then a short walk down Hazelwood Avenue.
A designer charity shop stocking preloved homeware and clothing alongside occasional Gucci, Barbour and North Face finds, with every sale supporting the hospice’s care for local families.
FREE DAYS OUT ONCE YOU’RE OFF THE BUS
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead
Getting there: Voltra 53 or 54 from Newcastle Central Station.
Free to enter and housed in a converted 1950s flour mill on the south bank of the Tyne, BALTIC runs a constantly changing programme of major contemporary exhibitions rather than a permanent collection, so it’s worth a return visit through the year. The fourth-floor viewing platform gives a standout view over the river, and showing a bus, Metro or train ticket gets you 10% off in the shop.
Ouseburn Farm, Newcastle
Getting there: The Q3 Quaylink bus from Market Street near Grey’s Monument, which drops you on City Road just round the corner from the farm.
A free, charity-run city farm tucked underneath three bridges, with sheep, goats, pigs and chickens to meet, plus a garden and a café serving food grown on site. It’s donation-based rather than free-free, so bring a little change if you can.
Great North Museum: Hancock, Newcastle
Getting there: Any bus into Haymarket Bus Station, then a two-minute walk onto Barras Bridge, right on Newcastle University’s campus.
Free entry to natural history and Ancient Egypt displays alike, and close enough to campus for an easy study break between lectures.
Jesmond Dene, Newcastle
Getting there: Q3 from Haymarket Bus Station to Jesmond Dene Road, right by the entrance.
A free, two-mile stretch of green space with the Ouseburn running through it and a small animal corner, handy for a proper break from screens without leaving the city.
Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Sunderland
Getting there: Any bus into Sunderland Interchange, then a five-minute walk to Mowbray Park.
Free all year round, with local history, art and a glass rotunda Winter Garden holding over 2,000 plants and a tree-top walkway above Mowbray Park. Say hello to Wallace the Lion, the museum’s taxidermy mascot of more than a century, while you’re there.
September’s biggest date on the calendar is the Great North Run on Sunday 13th September, starting in Newcastle and finishing in South Shields. You don’t need to be running to enjoy it: spectators can pick up a Great North Run Day Rover ticket in advance for £6.50 under the Mayor’s Fares, covering travel across the region on the day.
CATCH A SHOW FOR £10 AND TRAVEL THERE FREE ON METRO
Theatre Royal, Grey Street, Newcastle
Getting there: The nearest Metro station is Monument, a short walk from the theatre.
Under-30s can book selected shows from £10, and there’s a genuinely useful bonus on top: any valid theatre ticket doubles as a free Metro ticket to and from Monument, valid up to two hours before and after the show, plus free travel on the Shields Ferry too.
A night watching the Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre or Opera North doesn’t need to cost anything to get there and back on the Metro. Keep hold of your ticket for inspection by Metro staff.
MORE STUDENT DISCOUNTS ACROSS THE REGION
Beyond the essentials, the £1 single and £3 day ticket unlock a genuinely good run of student discounts further afield. Show your bus ticket or student ID and these are the deals worth knowing about.
More information about discounts for travelling by bus to these and other venues across the region can be found at travelnortheast.uk/daysoutbybus.
Ad Gefrin, Wooler
Getting there: X16 Saturday service 10:53 from Newcastle Haymarket, returning from Wooler at 14:23 or 19:18.
An award-winning Anglo-Saxon museum with a working English whisky distillery attached, out in the Northumberland countryside. You can also get 10% off entry when you show your bus ticket.
Alnwick Castle, Alnwick
Getting there: X15 from Newcastle Haymarket.
Students get 20% off entry, with tickets valid for 12 months, so it’s worth returning through the year rather than trying to see it all in one visit.
Beamish Museum, County Durham
Getting there: 28 from Eldon Square.
England’s first regional open-air museum, with 25% off entry for students and a pay-once, visit-free-for-a-year policy on top.
Raby Castle, Darlington
Getting there: X21 from Eldon Square Bus Station to Bishop Auckland Bus Station then the 85 to Raby Castle (Monday to Saturday only).
200 acres of deer park, gardens and medieval architecture, with a 5% student discount on entry. Also, if you show your bus ticket when you arrive, you can receive a further 10% discount.
Durham Castle, Durham
Getting there: X21 from Eldon Square.
A 20% student discount on entry, or free entry entirely if you’re a Durham University student.
Gibside, Gateshead
Getting there: X45 from Eldon Square.
A National Trust estate with Victorian gardens and woodland trails. Show your bus ticket on arrival for 25% off entry.
Tynemouth Aquarium, Tynemouth
Getting there: 306 from Newcastle Haymarket.
Students get 10% off, and there’s a further £2 off per person if you’ve travelled by bus, seals and otters included.
Tynemouth Priory and Castle, Tynemouth
Getting there: 306 from Newcastle Haymarket.
20% off entry when you show a bus ticket, and a good excuse to build the rest of a coastal day around Riley’s Fish Shack and King Edward’s Bay.
Sunderland Empire, Sunderland
Getting there: X24 from Monument, Pilgrim Street.
Discounted student tickets for touring West End musicals and live shows, applied automatically at checkout.
Jarrow Hall Anglo-Saxon Farm, Village and Bede Museum, Jarrow
Getting there: the Crusader 27 from High Level Bridge.
Reconstructed Anglo-Saxon buildings and a working farm, with 40% off entry and unlimited access for a full year.
Junkyard Golf, Newcastle
Getting there: Various buses into Haymarket or Newgate Street.
Half price on 9-hole and unlimited golf daily, played through themed indoor courses rather than a standard green.
Read more: 14 student discount deals in the North East
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…
Subscribe
Subscribe now to receive our twice-weekly emails and exclusive offers for High Life North readers.