River Tyne West Circular Cycle

This 34km (21 mile) circular cycle route will take you from the central quayside area of Newcastle out along the River Tyne to the west, crossing over at the village of Wylam and coming back on the other side of the river. There are plenty of delightful places to stop, rest, eat, drink and shop along the way so take your time and make a day of it!

You can also extend the route to continue along the River Tyne out to the old Roman towns of Corbridge and Hexham and back.

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What to expect: most of this route follows traffic-free cycle paths which switch between quayside promenades, old railway lines with good quality paved surfaces and cycle lanes on pavements, along National Cycle Route 72 Hadrians Way going West out of Newcastle on the northern side of the river. Then coming back along National Cycle Route 14 Keelman’s Way on the south side of the river, again on mostly traffic-free and good quality paths.

Overview of route (click here for a more detailed map):

We start this cycle route at the Gateshead Millennium Bridge (green star on map below).

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Cycle West (river on your left hand side) following signs for National Cycle Route 72 Hadrian’s Way for approx 17km until you come to the village of Wylam and Wylam Bridge to the other side of the river.

Cross the bridge and turn left to head East (river on your left still) to follow National Cycle Route 14 Keelman’s Way all the way back to the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

Some key directions to look out for as follows:

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At approx 6.5km into the cycle (just after cycling under the main A1 road bridge over the River Tyne) you will come to a large roundabout on the A6085 with a sign for Hadrians Cycleway No 72 signed off to the right to follow the A6085. Instead, turn left onto Kingfisher Boulevard to follow the alternative cycle route alongside the river as this is more pleasant (see map below)!

Click here for a more detailed map